Yogurt-Marinated Grilled Chicken with Tzatziki Salad

Mediterranean grilled chicken with a creamy and crunchy cucumber relish

I'm a sucker for anything with tzatziki, a Greek yogurt sauce, and have featured many recipes for it on this blog. So it should come as no surprise that I have been anxiously waiting to make this recipe (which I've actually adapted quite a bit) for grilled chicken with tzatziki from the Sprouted Kitchen cookbook for several months. This version of tzatziki is actually more of a salad than a sauce and features lots of diced cucumbers, red onion, and herbs with just a little bit of yogurt and lemon to bind it. I also added some chunks of feta, mainly because I'm obsessed with the good sheep's milk feta that's packed in water from Whole Foods (first mentioned here) and have been coming up with excuses to buy it as much as possible. The chicken is marinated in many of the same ingredients that are in the tzatziki, plus some additional herbs and spices, and gets nice and charred on the hot grill. Pounding out the breasts allows the meat to cook evenly and provides extra surface area to spoon the salad on top of. This makes a healthy but filling meal, especially paired with some couscous or warm rice.

Note: This recipe is pretty forgiving about being prepared in advance or reheated. The only thing you should not do is add salt to the tzatziki salad until just before eating. The salt will draw water out of the cucumbers and make the mixture watery if it sits for a long period of time.


Related Recipes:
- Salmon with Radish Raita Sauce
- Grilled Lamb Burgers with Feta, Tzatziki, & Arugula
- Beef & Lamb Kofta with Yogurt Sauce


Yogurt-Marinated Grilled Chicken with Tzatziki Salad:
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded 1/4" thin
- 3 Persian or hothouse cucumbers, diced small (about 3 cups)
- 1/4 red onion, diced small
- 3-4 oz. feta cheese, preferably sheep's milk, diced small
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced + 3 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 1/3 c. whole-milk Greek yogurt
- 1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/4 c. fresh dill, chopped
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp. red chile flakes
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- kosher salt
- black pepper

Recipe

• Whisk together 1 c. yogurt, lemon zest, juice of 1 lemon, 2 tbsp. parsley, 2 tbsp. dill, cumin, red chile flakes, oregano, and 1 tsp. each of salt and pepper.
• Place in a resealable bag with the chicken and marinate for 30 mins at room temperature or up to to several hours in the fridge.
• Preheat a grill to high and remove the chicken from the fridge if it was marinating in there.
• Grill the chicken for 4 minutes, then flip and cook for another 4 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the cucumbers, onion, garlic, and remaining dill and parsley in a bowl.
• Stir in 1/3 c. yogurt and 3 tbsp. lemon juice and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well and taste for seasoning. Gently stir in the feta, trying not to break it up.
• Divide the chicken onto plates and top each with a generous amount of tzatziki salad.

Serves four

Creamy Linguine with Peas

Pasta and sweet peas bathed in heavy cream

I love coming home from work, preparing dinner, and being able to eat it (preferably with my husband in our backyard) before the sun goes down. The changing seasons and longer days are getting me excited for warm summer evenings when we can dine al fresco every night. I find myself wanting to do less cooking this time of year so that I can fill my after-work hours with more walks and activities before sunset. This pasta comes from Canal House Cooks Everyday and requires barely any time in the kitchen. Pasta and peas (I can get fresh English peas at my farmers market, and they're worth seeking out if you can find them) are tossed with a generous amount of heavy cream and parmesan cheese... and that's about it. The pasta is creamy but not heavy and is especially good with a simple green salad with an acidic vinaigrette. Add it to your weeknight dinner rotation and you won't be disappointed.


Related Recipes:
- Pesto Orecchiette with Chicken, Peas, & Fava Beans
- Garlicky Fettuccine Alfredo with Peas
- Risotto Carbonara with Peas


Creamy Linguine with Peas:
Ingredients
- 1 lb. linguine or fettuccine pasta
- 1 lb. English peas, fresh or defrosted
- 5-6 scallions, sliced
- 1 c. heavy cream
- 1 c. grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp. salted butter
- kosher salt
- black pepper

Recipe

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season generously with salt (taste it - it should taste a bit salty), and add in the pasta.
• Cook until 2 minutes before al dente, then add in the peas and scallions and cook for another minute.
• Drain and reserve 1 c. pasta cooking water and return the empty pot to the stove over low heat.
• Add the butter and cream to the pot and cook for a couple minutes, or until the mixture starts to bubble.
• Add in the pasta mixture, parmesan, a splash of the pasta water, and a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper.
• Toss together for about a minute, adding more pasta water if needed to moisten. Check for seasoning and add some salt or more pepper if needed.
• Divide onto plates and serve.

Serves four-five

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Chocolate chip-pretzel-walnut-granola cookies

This recipe (adapted slightly from Food52) is like chocolate chip cookies on crack. It starts with a simple cookie batter but then things get interesting as salted pretzel sticks, jumbo milk chocolate chips, toasted walnuts, and granola clusters all mix in to the dough. These are thin and crispy cookies, not soft and cakey, and they are full of crunch from the granola, pretzels, and nuts. The sweet-salty combination makes the cookies super addicting and it's impossible to just eat one. We had some friends over on Sunday afternoon and the six of us polished off an entire batch of two dozen cookies and half a gallon of milk.


More Cookie Recipes:
- Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- White Chocolate Buttered Popcorn Cookies
- Ginger Sugar Cookies


Kitchen Sink Cookies:
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 sticks (7 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 c. chocolate chips
- 3/4 c. pretzels, chopped
- 3/4 c. granola
- 1/2 c. walnuts
- 3/4 c. brown sugar
- 3/4 c. white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- parchment paper or baking mats

Recipe

• Combine the butter and sugars in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
• Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until combined, making sure to scrape down the side of the bowl.
• In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and stir together.
• Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
• Gently mix in the chocolate chips, granola, pretzels, and walnuts.
• Set the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375F and line 2-3 large baking sheets with non-stick mats or parchment paper.
• Spoon heaping tbsp. of the dough into your hands and roll into balls, then arrange on the baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.
• Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets once.
• Let cool on a baking rack for at least 10 minutes before eating.

Makes two dozen cookies