Chicken souvlaki
The mouthwatering smell of souvlaki (a Greek word for ‘skewer’) cooking on an outdoor grill is so evocative of a summer evening in Greece. Here’s how to recreate it at home.
Ingredients
- 4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into 4cm/1½in pieces
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tbsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp sweet paprika
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 lemon, grated zest and juice only
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the mustard sauce
- 125g/4½oz Greek-style yoghurt
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp English mustard
To serve
- 4 pitta breads or flatbreads
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- ½ bunch flatleaf parsley, finely chopped
- sliced tomatoes, shredded white or red cabbage (optional)
Method
Put the chicken in a large bowl and add the olive oil, oregano, paprika, garlic and lemon zest. Season with ½ teaspoon each of sea salt and black pepper. Mix together well, then cover and place in the fridge for a few hours, preferably overnight.
Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the grill to its highest setting. Thread the meat onto four skewers. Place on a baking tray and grill for 15–18 minutes, turning halfway through.
While the chicken is cooking, make the mustard sauce. Mix together the yoghurt, mayonnaise, honey and mustard.
To serve, spoon the mustard sauce onto the pitta breads and put the chicken on top. Scatter over the sliced onion and chopped parsley and add a good squeeze of lemon juice. Serve immediately, with sliced tomato and shredded cabbage if you like.