Mediterranean Chicken Bowls

A few years ago, I went on an overnight trip to visit a friend who was staying at her parent’s house. For dinner they had prepared DIY Greek chicken bowls. They had precooked the chicken on the grill, and laid out all the fixings for us to assemble our own bowl. Not only was this meal delicious, but I also loved that I could take as much or as little of the different fixings as I wanted. I took a mental note that it was the perfect meal to make when hosting company.

Fast forward to this summer. My family and I recently moved back from Japan to our home in Texas. We loved our life in Japan, but one of the perks about living back in Texas is that we have a grill. After living for several years in an apartment that doesn’t allow grills on the balcony, I’ve been grilling up a storm this summer in my backyard. I have been making a lot of simple but flavorful dinners with marinated meats and veggies. This Greek chicken marinade has been a go-to.

This blog post is hardly a recipe. It’s more like inspiration for your next family dinner. I love using pearl couscous as I’ve written-up below, but you can also customize the base of the bowl by using either rice, quinoa, or lettuce. Whisk together the Greek vinaigrette dressing. Select all your favorite Mediterranean toppings - tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, feta, and/or olives. You can combine them with the dressing, or keep everything separate (if, for example, you have young children who don’t like everything). Don’t skip the tzatziki and hummus. That’s what makes this meal extra delicious. I also have pita bread available for my kids to eat. I do have homemade recipes for both hummus and tzatziki (maybe for a future blog post), but lately I’ve been relying on store-bought versions to make this an easier meal to put on the table.

I hope you love this chicken marinade and assembling your own Mediterranean Chicken bowl!

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 chicken breasts

• 2 - 3 Roma tomatoes, diced (or 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved)

• 1 English cucumber, diced

• 1/2 red onion, sliced

• 1 jar of olives

• 6 oz feta cheese, crumbled

• cooked pearl couscous (see below), rice or quinoa

• several handfuls of mixed greens or chopped romaine

• hummus (store-bought or homemade)

• Tzatziki (store-bought or homemade)

For the chicken marinade:

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 lemon, zest of and juice of

• 2 tsp oregano

• 1 tsp pink salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

For the Greek vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

• 1 lemon, juice of

• 1 1/2 Tbsp honey

• 1 tsp Dijon

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1/2 pink salt, plus more to taste

• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the couscous:

• 1 1/3 cups pearl couscous

• 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

• 1/2 tsp pink salt, more for taste

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 lemon, juice of, to taste

Instructions:

1. Whisk together all the ingredients in the marinade. Place chicken in a gallon size zip lock and pour the marinade on top. Marinate for at least 30 minutes, but preferably overnight up to 24 hours.

2. Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing and chop/prepare all the fixings for the bowl. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the red onion to take the “bite” out of it.

3. Prepare the pearl couscous: Heat a large sauté pan (that has a lid) over medium-high heat. Pour 1 Tbsp of olive oil into pan. Add couscous and stir it around, coating all the couscous in oil. Stirring often, toast the couscous until they are golden-brown, 4-5 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp pink salt. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the water is absorbed, 9-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

4. Meanwhile, mix 1 tsp smoked paprika with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Pour the paprika & olive oil into the couscous and stir to mix. Season with additional salt and lemon juice to taste.

5. Grill the chicken breasts until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 F, about 6-8 minutes per side. (You could also bake the chicken at 350 F for about 30 minutes).

6. Assemble bowls to your liking. I like to smear the hummus on the bottom of the plate and put the sliced chicken on top. Place all the fixings on a bed of greens with a dollop of tzatziki. Garnish with course ground pepper, fresh oregano, and/or a slice of lemon.