Greek Week Day 5: Chicken Souvlakia

OK, it's HOT. hot hot hot. This is the kind of day I don't want to cook indoors. So what's a gal exploring Greek food to do? Take it to the grill. Other than the 3 hour marinating time, this has to be one of the quickest, easiest recipes yet! I just had to throw together a marinade, chop up some chicken breasts, wait the 3 hours, and then thread the chicken onto skewers with some yummy vegetables and grill. Fantastic!

I did alter this recipe just a bit. Instead of 12 small mushroom caps, I used 18. Instead of 12 cherry tomatoes, I used 18. I didn't chop the green peppers into 12 pieces. I chopped it into bite size pieces. Maybe my peppers were just big, but 12 pieces would have been very big pieces. And then, I only used 4 skewers instead of 6. Mostly that's because I finally broke down and bought skewers. And there were only 4 in a pack. Despite my alterations, these were very very tasty skewers. I served them with some rice and I think I'll be cherishing the leftovers in leftover pita pockets. Yummy!

Chicken Souvlakia (Souvlakia me Kota)

adapted from The Complete Book of Greek Cooking by the Recipe Club of Saint Paul's Greek Orthodox Cathedral

marinade:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup red wine

1/2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp dried oregano

2 chicken breasts (boned and skinned) cut into bite sized pieces

2 green peppers cut into bite size pieces

18 button mushrooms

18 cherry tomatoes

Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Using 4 long skewers, arrange alternating pieces of chicken, green pepper, mushroom, and tomatoes. Brush with some of the marinade. Barbecue on the grill for 15 to 20 minutes, brushing with marinade and turning frequently.