A meal from a carry-out shop is fine in a pinch. But many order-in meals taste better made at home. You get larger quantities and use pantry ingredients. Yes, there’s the clean-up afterwards (the only offensive part of cooking), but I enthusiastically congratulate the cook when I do it myself.
To get veggies into the family, I put out a bowl of hummus or tzatziki with pita triangles and an alphabet of fresh veggies from broccoli to zucchini. (Either dip can be storebought, but it’s just as easy to whirl the ingredients in a food processor.) I add Greek-style salad and rice pilaf.
The key to getting the flavors right is the marinade for the chicken and the dressing for the salad. Start with 100% olive oil. Skip the extra-virgin kind: it won’t matter.
Whole lemons are essential for best flavor. Not bottled juice. First, grate the yellow zest from the bitter white of the peel, then cut the lemons in half and squeeze out juice. (Hint: Juice the lemon into the bowl through a fine-mesh sieve to catch seeds.) Add chopped garlic for balance. (I do this a day ahead and refrigerate, tightly covered, overnight.)
Herbs are best fresh, but I often raid the pantry for dried ones. Just remember, if using dried, use only half the quantity called for in the recipe as the dried herbs tend to shout rather than whisper.
I trick palates with fresh parsley added to dried herbs. (Never use dried parsley: it may as well be cardboard shavings.) Black pepper, freshly ground, also adds more punch to the finish. To save time, mix up both marinade and dressing at once, doubling the amount of the recipe listed here. Divide the result into two bowls. Use half to marinate the meat.
Then whisk a tablespoon of wine vinegar into the other half to make salad dressing. Set aside. Toss together two lettuces — one crunchy; one tender — tomato wedges, cucumber rounds, red onion slice, and black olives (not canned). Add a hefty crumble of feta cheese and toss with dressing a few minutes before dinnertime.
GREEK ISLAND FLAVORED CHICKEN
Makes 6 servings.
I pair this with a boxed rice pilaf. To mask my deceit, I stir in chopped fresh parsley and mint
and a squirt or two of lemon juice at the end of cooking.
This chicken is oven-baked, although it takes very well to the outdoor grill and as long as the weather holds up, I will grill. (Actually, I leave the grill on the deck all winter and will happily grill
steaks during a snowstorm.)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 lemons, juiced and zested
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon each fresh oregano, parsley, and thyme, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, garlic, lemon juice and zest, the herbs, salt and pepper. Add the chicken turning to coat with marinade. Refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes to 2 hours (no longer).
Heat oven to 400F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place chicken breasts on top. Bake until the internal temperature reads 160F, about 20-30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving over rice.
TSATZIKI Makes 1 cup.
1 cup plain 5% yogurt ½ cucumber, seeded
1 clove garlic
Juice of ¼ lemon
Fresh or dried dill, minced, to taste
Salt, pepper to taste
Process the yogurt, cucumber, garlic and lemon juice using a stick blender until not quite smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and dill, to taste. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Linda Bassett lived in Marblehead for years and has worked as a cook, trained up-and-coming chefs, studied food history and led food tours. Her book, “From Apple Pie to Pad Thai,” is about local cooks and cooking.
Linda Bassett
Marblehead resident Linda Bassett has worked as a cook, trained up-and-coming chefs, studied food history and led food tours. Her book, “From Apple Pie to Pad Thai,” is about local cooks and cooking.
