This Greek recipe, shared with us from Celia H., is super easy to prepare and has amazing flavor. Celia shares that to simply the prep, you can use commercial tzatziki sauce, although I love the flavor of this sauce when freshly prepared.
Prep Time: 25-30 minutes
Baking Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4
Baked Chicken and Vegetables
1 tablespoon avocado oil
24 ounces skin-on chicken thighs (or any chicken portion you prefer)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 small fennel root, cut into small cubes
1 small eggplant, sliced into ½-inch cubes
1 medium yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
¾ cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
½ cup whole, unpitted Kalamata black olives
¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
Tzatziki Sauce
¾ cup organic, full-fat, plain yogurt
½ cup English cucumber, grated (using with the largest hole on the grater). Then squeeze the water out of the cucumber using paper towels.
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 390 degrees F.
Heat a sauté pan to medium-high heat. Add avocado oil, then chicken and sauté for 2-3 minutes on each side (especially the skin side) until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine olive oil, chicken thighs, salt, black pepper, oregano, onion, fennel root, eggplant, bell pepper, and chickpeas. Mix thoroughly.
Spread mixture onto an oven baking pan or cookie baking pan with the chicken on top. Bake on a middle oven shelf for 25 minutes, remove the pan from the oven.
Sprinkle the tomatoes, black olives, feta, and fresh basil leaves over the chicken and vegetables and return to oven for 15 minutes. Prior to removing the pan from the oven, confirm that internal chicken thigh temperature is at least 165 degrees F.
While the chicken and vegetables are baking, prepare the Tzatziki sauce.
Start by grating the cucumber. Next, squeeze the water out of the grated cucumber with paper towels. In a serving bowl, combine yogurt, cucumber, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and fresh mint. Chill until ready to use.
Serve Tzatziki sauce on the side or drizzle the sauce over the baked chicken and vegetables. As the vegetables will release their juice into the bottom of the pan, serve the chicken and vegetables with a slotted spoon.
Enjoy,
Steven Masley, MD
Please share these recipes with your friends and family!
Send them this link to sign-up to receive my recipes: www.drmasley.com