Greek Salad with Oregano Chicken

Continuing with the salad theme before the wedding, tonight I made a Greek salad with oregano chicken.  I used a recipe by Dave Lieberman from foodnetwork.com for inspiration.  I also served it “salad bar style” since my husband does not love certain foods that I adore (kalamata olives, artichokes, etc).  I also made my own dressing for this one and kept it on the side so that the leftover salad didn’t get soggy.

Start with the marinade for the chicken:

• Combine the zest and juice of 1 lemon with 2 tablespoons EVOO in a dish.
• Add 1 teaspoon dried oregano, a few pinches of salt, and a few more pinches of pepper.

• Stir to combine, then add 1 package of chicken breasts.  Flip the chicken a few times to coat on both sides.

• Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (up to 4 hours).  (I had it in the fridge for about 2.5 hours.)

Next, make the dressing:

• In a container with a lid (so that you can shake the dressing), combine 4 tablespoons EVOO with 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar.
• Add a little lemon zest and the juice from 1 lemon.
• Add 1 teaspoon dried oregano and a good amount of s&p.
• Add 3 cloves of garlic, cracked away from the skins.

• Cover, shake well, and refrigerate until ready to serve.  (*Note: you will want to take the dressing out a little while before you serve the salad because the EVOO will tend to solidify in the fridge.)

While the chicken is marinating, chop everything for the salad.

• Slice up 3 heads of romaine lettuce.

• Slice 1 cucumber, 2 tomatoes, and 2 yellow peppers.

• Slice a few roasted peppers.
• Cut up a block of feta cheese.

I also made a few hard boiled eggs and sliced them.  I also put out some kalamata olives and marinated artichokes.

When you are satisfied with the amount of time the chicken marinated, preheat a grillpan (or your Cuisinart Griddler) to medium high.

Cook the chicken about 4-5 minutes on each side.  Let cool, then slice.

Top your salad with the chicken and then dress with the homemade dressing (or other dressing of your choice).

The dressing was really fantastic.  This salad really hit the spot!  (I definitely will make it again with shrimp instead of chicken.  If you try that, make sure you don’t marinate the shrimp for too long!)  My husband even said it was “the best salad he ever had”.  Quite a bold statement!  Enjoy!