Chicken Souvlaki (Greek grilled skewers)

InternationalGreek50 minServes 4

"Souvlaki" is a Greek word meaning "little skewer": cubes of meat grilled on sticks and eaten on the streets of Athens wrapped in pita or on a plate with fries. Grilling meat on skewers is ancient in Greece: stone and clay skewer supports from the Bronze Age have been found at Akrotiri on Santorini and at Mycenaean sites, and Homer mentions meat roasted on spits in the Iliad. Souvlaki as street food spread widely only after the Second World War. Traditional souvlaki is often made with pork; in our kitchen we make it with chicken marinated in olive oil, oregano, garlic and lemon juice, served with cool, refreshing tzatziki.

Origin of the dish: Greece — Beloved Greek street food in Athens and every city

Photo: Greek chicken souvlaki merida.jpg by Leeturtle, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Ingredients for Chicken Souvlaki

• 800 gboneless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
• ¼ cupolive oil
• 3 tbsplemon juice
• 4 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 2 tspdried oregano
• 1 tspsalt and ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 cupGreek yoghurt, ½ cucumber grated and squeezed, 1 clove garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp dill or mint and 1 tsp lemon (For the tzatziki)
• To serve4 pita breads, tomato, sliced red onion and fries

Method

1. Mix the oil, lemon, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, turn the chicken in it and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
2. Mix the tzatziki ingredients and chill.
3. Thread the chicken onto skewers.
4. Grill on a hot grill or charcoal for 10–12 minutes, turning, until cooked and browned all over.
5. Warm the pita briefly on the grill.
6. Serve the skewers with the pita, tzatziki, tomato, onion and fries. Halal note: traditional souvlaki is often pork; here we use chicken (lamb also works).

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