Well how about we make a Greek classic today for lunch! Try out my easy grilled chicken souvlaki skewers with a fresh tzatziki yogurt sauce on the side… Because it is just a heavenly combination!
How delicious this Greek souvlaki is!
You certainly must have heard of this Greek classic, right. Souvlaki is a popular Greek dish that consists of bite size grilled bits of meat and poultry on skewers.
Classic Greek Souvlaki Chicken
You can serve souvlaki with grilled bread.
Or stuff the grilled meat in a pita bread and also add other (roasted) vegetables, fresh lettuce and refreshing dipping sauce like Greek tzatziki yogurt sauce. You can also serve the souvlaki skewers with (fried) potatoes on the side.
I love to serve my souvlaki with my oven baked lemon potatoes!
Lemon Potatoes
This time I went for a souvlaki lunch version.
So I decided to keep my souvlaki lunch light. No potatoes or bread this time. Needless to say that these chicken skewers with a dollop of Greek tzatziki yogurt sauce and a crunchy fresh green salad went down a treat.
I will be making this combo more often this summer.
What an epic lunch idea!
Enjoy!
Easy Souvlaki Chicken Skewers Recipe
Grilled chicken souvlaki skewers with a fresh tzatziki yogurt sauce... great combination!
- 10,5 oz fresh chicken breast (350 g)
- ¼ cup olive oil (60 ml
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 slices fresh lemon
- 1 60 ml garlic clove
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- pepper
- salt
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Let’s first marinate the chicken. Dice the fresh chicken breast into bite-size bits and add them to a large plastic ziplock bag. Peel the garlic clove and chop it up very finely. Add the chopped garlic to the chicken in the plastic bag together with the fresh lemon juice, the slices of fresh lemon, the olive oil and the dried oregano. Season with a good dash of pepper and salt.
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Squeeze out the excess air and seal the bag well. Move the chicken bits and the marinade around a bit to divide the ingredients evenly. Place the bag in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Right before you assemble the chicken souvlaki skewers and grill them, prepare the Greek tzatziki yogurt dip: find my tzatziki recipe below!
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Place the freshly made Greek tzatziki yogurt dip in the fridge until needed later on. If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in some water for 10 minutes. Remove the ziplock bag with the marinated chicken bits from the fridge. Assemble the chicken skewers.
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Then grill, barbecue, roast of pan fry the chicken skewers in a little olive oil on all sides until the chicken is cooked through and golden brown.
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Divide the skewers over plates and serve with the freshly made Greek tzatziki yogurt dip. Serve with extra fresh lemon, lettuce and ripe tomatoes.
Sunny Holiday in Santorini
So what’s the best Greek tzatziki that I have ever tasted in my life so far?
Let me tell all about it. It’s quite a lovely memory!
We were visiting the gorgeous mediterranean island of Santorini, Greece a couple of years ago. Have you been there? So one fine day we decided to explore half of the island by quad which brought us to very remote locations along the mediterranean coastline.
It was a sizzling hot day.
Sightseeing
And there was not even the tiniest breeze. Amazing because we are in the middle of the mediterranean sea at that moment.
And the scorching hot sun was bouncing off the black lava earth and roasting our legs like little suckling piggies on a stick. Even though we had stocked up well before we left town, our provision of drinking water went alarmingly down hill and it wasn’t even noon yet…
Not a café or little roadside drink shack in sight!
Or wait, hold on.
Roadside Café
There I saw 2 colorful parasols near a tiny painted white brick house.
We drove up to it to check it out and were greeted by the most amazing mediterranean smile on the island. An old lady in her late 80’s I think motioned to us.
We could come and sit down at one of the two tables outside of her little house.
Homemade Tzatziki Recipe
She brought the most delicious chilled water ever and the coolest Mythos beer in the world. We also received marinated olives and a large plate of the most refreshing tzatziki.
We sat there, enjoying our simple bread lunch in the shade.
With a stunning view on the mediterranean sea. In the end when we asked for the check the Greek lady held up 5 fingers, 5 bucks. Tzatziki for 2, crunchy bread, a litre of water (plus another litre to fill up our water bottles), marinated olives and 2 Mythos beers.
Mythos
We gave her 10 and refused to accept any change.
The old lady hurried back into her tiny house and came back with a plastic bag of home baked homemade Greek almond biscuits to take with us.
Heartwarming.
So I suppose that my Greek tzatziki yogurt dip will never be as good as hers. But then it always makes me travel back in time to that little tiny house in the mediterranean sea and also to this lady who made our day.
Easy Homemade Tzatziki Recipe
Homemade tzatziki, the best companion for souvlaki chicken skewers!
- 1 large fresh cucumber
- 10,5 oz unsweetened yogurt (350 g)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
- 1 large garlic clove
- a good handful fresh mint
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- pepper
- salt
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Rinse the cucumber. Don't peel it, just chop off both ends and slice it in half lengthwise. Remove the soft watery center with a teaspoon until you reach the firmer cucumber flesh underneath.
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Then grate the cucumber.
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Put it on a large plate and sprinkle evenly with a pinch of salt. This will soften the cucumber flavor and extract the water in the cucumber. Then put it aside to marinate for 15 minutes. In the meantime finely chop the garlic and crush it finely under the blade of your knife until you get a puree. Also chop the mint up finely. Add both the chopped mint and garlic puree to a large bowl together with the unsweetened Greek yogurt.
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Stir well and season with a little pepper and the lemon juice or vinegar. Put the bowl with the yogurt in the fridge for now until needed later. Then transfer the grated cucumber to a clean and dry kitchen towel and tighten the towel into a ball. Squeeze out as much of the cucumber juice as you can.
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Then add the squeezed out grated cucumber to the bowl of yogurt and stir well. Check the seasoning and add more pepper, salt or lemon juice to taste if necessary. Scoop the Greek tzatziki yogurt dip in a large bowl and serve cold as a dipping sauce for the freshly grilled chicken souvlaki skewers.
