A collection of recipes shared among friends...

9.09.2010

Greek Chicken Pitas


My sister posted this recipe on her blog last month, but instead of chicken she made her own falafel. You can check out the falafel recipe here. I have a small fear of frying things in a lot of oil (could stem from a room mates accident in college.) Anyway, so I just grilled some chicken and then served the pitas with thinly sliced red onion, tomatoes and lettuce. If you're in a pinch you could always use store bought pitas... but don't be in a pinch.
Chicken
2 chicken breasts
2-3 T olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp dried minced garlic (I didn't have this so I just did a couple shakes of garlic powder)
Pinch of Salt

Combine all ingredients in a ziploc bag and shake/smoosh it around until the chicken is evenly coated with the seasonings. Grill chicken until it's no longer pink and the juices run clear.

Soft Pita Bread
Makes 8 flatbreads3 c. flour
1 1/2 c. boiling water

1/4 c. potato flour OR 1/2 c. potato flakes
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 tsp. INSTANT yeast
Directions:
Place 2 cups of the flour into a large mixing bowl (or Kitchen Aid). Pour the boiling water over the flour, and stir till smooth. Cover the bowl and set the mixture aside for 30 minutes. This process will cook out some of the starch, making the bread very soft and pliable.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the potato flour (or flakes) and 1 cup of the remaining flour with the salt, oil and yeast. Add this to the cooled flour/water mixture, stir, then knead for several (5-7) minutes to form a soft dough. Add additional flour only if necessary-- The dough should form a ball, but will remain somewhat soft. Let the dough rise, covered, for 1 hour. (Note: Since this is a flatbread, the dough will not rise very much due to the small amount of yeast-- But it should still rise noticeably.)

Divide the dough into 8 pieces (each around 3-4 oz.-- I use my kitchen scale for this), cover, and let rest on an oiled surface for 15 to 30 minutes. Roll each piece into an 8-inch circle, and dry-fry them (fry without oil) on a griddle or frying pan over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until they’re flecked with brown spots. Adjust the heat if they seem to be cooking either too quickly, or too slowly; cooking too quickly means they may be raw in the center, while too slowly will dry them out. Stack the cooked bread in between a soft, clean towel to keep them warm and soft. Serve immediately, or cool before storing in a plastic bag.

Tzatziki Sauce:
You can alter this to your taste (I like a lot more lemon juice in mine, so I doubled the amount).

1 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt (that's 2 6-oz. containers)
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 tsp. lemon juice
3 green onions, firm ends finely chopped
1 tsp. dry dill weed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced


Combine ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Store covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

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