Souvlaki in Outline

Happy Monday Lit Kitchers! We are back for another week, which means a new book of the week! While the temperatures are dropping here at home, Rachel Cusk’s novel Outline offers us a mental escape to the warm climates of Greece. Opa!

Cusk’s novel takes place in Athens and revolves around a recently divorced writer who travels there to teach a writing class. However, the book focuses less on the overall events of the narrator’s trip and more on the conversations with the people she meets while she’s abroad. These interactions, which generally involve characters relating their stories and thoughts on such things as love, relationships, and careers, provide a scattered glimpse, or an “outline”, of her time in Greece.

From my own travel experiences, I find that the things that stick with me the most are not the monuments or the tour guide hot spots, but rather the personal, authentic interactions with the people around me, both locals and fellow travelers. The fact that Cusk chooses to build a novel around these encounters rather than plot-driving events lends the novel authenticity.

Fortunately for our endeavors, the novel’s Greek setting means good food! In one scene, the narrator mentions a Grecian specialty, souvlaki. So, without further ado, let me “outline” a souvlaki recipe for you!

The Ingredients

1. The meat. For this recipe I am using chicken thighs. You can always substitute chicken breasts, but I don’t think they have quite as much flavor as the thighs, and it’s easier to accidentally dry out breasts. Make sure you get boneless and skinless chicken.
2. The spices. Oregano is the classic spice used here, but I also added some rosemary and thyme to kick up the flavor, and threw in some crushed red pepper to add a little spice. And, of course, garlic. I am not a vampire so I thoroughly enjoy garlic, but feel free to cut back on this if you are an evil bloodsucking creature of the night aren’t a fan of garlic. I made the chicken pretty spice heavy and allowed the tzatziki and other toppings to tone down the spice, but if you’re planning to eat the chicken on its own and not in a pita filled with goodies, I recommend cutting the spice amounts in half or the flavor might be a bit overbearing.
3. The liquids. Some lemon juice and a little bit of olive oil are all you need to make the spices bind to the chicken. If you, like me, are not bougie enough to have a citrus press (ahem, Santa), just cut the lemon in half and poke around with a fork while squeezing it to maximize your juice collecting potential.
4. The tzatziki sauce. Fun to say, delicious, and easy to make, this is pretty much the ideal sauce. Cucumber, Greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, dill, and garlic are all you need. Cucumbers contain a lot of water, so it is very important to remove as much moisture as possible, or you’ll end up with a sad yogurt-y soup instead of a sauce. First, cut the cucumber in half lengthwise, which will allow you to scoop out the seedy innards, where most of the moisture lives. Then, after chopping the cucumber, sprinkle some salt on it and let it rest. The salt will draw out the water, then all you have to do is squeeze to eliminate any extra moisture.
5. The Garnishes. As long as you have meat grilled on a skewer, you have souvlaki. The tzatziki and everything else is completely optional, but it makes it oh so good. I made mine similar to a gyro, served on pita with diced onion and tomato, and added feta and arugula, because yum.

The Recipe

Cut the chicken. I fail to understand why most people insist on cutting meat into chunks when grilling it on a skewer (here’s looking at you, shish kabobs). It’s a widely accepted belief that that is the best way to do it. But it’s dumb. The meat cooks all unevenly and usually ends up dried out in the middle. What you really want is for as much surface area as possible to touch the grill. Rather than hefty chunks, cut the chicken into long, thin strips.

Make that marinade. Place the chicken in a freezer bag and dump in all of the seasonings. Add the olive oil and lemon juice, then seal the bag. Using your hands, massage the seasoning into the chicken until it’s evenly coated. Then pop it in the fridge and let it soak up the flavor. I let my chicken marinade for two hours, but you can cut it down to one if you’re short on time, or let it go as long as 12 hours if you really want the flavors to absorb.

Gut the cucumber. While the chicken is marinating, you have plenty of time to whip up the tzatziki sauce. Start by cutting the cucumber in half lengthwise (note: European cucumbers tend to be long; I only used half the cucumber, then cut that half in half lengthwise). Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds.

Drain the cucumber. It’s a bad day to be a cucumber, between all the gutting and draining. Finely chop the cucumber (you don’t want big chunks in your sauce…unless you do want big chunks in your sauce, in which case, do your thing), then sprinkle it with salt and let it rest. Check your email, drink a beer, pet your dog. Then return to your traumatized cucumber and use your hands to squeeze out as much moisture as possible.

Mix the sauce. Add the rest of the tzatziki sauce ingredients, stir until combined, and put it in the fridge until you’re ready to eat. This step should seem suspiciously simple after the Great Cucumber Massacre.

Prepare to cook chicken. Fire up the grill on high heat and brush it with olive oil. Thread the chicken onto the skewers.

Cook the chicken. Once it’s heated up, turn the grill down to medium high and place the skewers on there. Turn every 2-3 minutes until fully cooked, about 10-12 minutes.

Rest the chicken. Remove the chicken from the grill and allow it a 5 minute nap. Throw your pita onto the grill for a few minutes while the chicken is resting.

Construct your souvlaki sandwich. Pull the chicken off of the skewer and place it on the pita. Top with the tzatziki and whatever other toppings you want. I recommend diced onion and tomato, feta, arugula, and a splash of lemon juice.

This is a really simple but flavorful recipe that you can use to impress all of your friends. Let me know in the comments if you try it, and check back Friday for another recipe inspired by Outline!

Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce

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Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Serves: 6-8 Prep Time: 30 min Cooking Time: 15 min 15 min Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• FOR CHICKEN:
• 1.5-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 Tbsp oregano
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for brushing the grill
• juice from 1 large lemon
• FOR TZATZIKI SAUCE:
• 1/2 European cucumber
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup whole fat Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp dill, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• TO SERVE:
• pita bread
• diced tomato
• diced onion
• feta cheese
• arugula
• lemon wedges

Instructions

1. Cut chicken thighs into long, thin strips.
2. Place chicken thighs in large freezer bag. Add oregano, rosemary, thyme, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and the juice from 1 lemon. Seal bag and massage until chicken is evenly coated.
3. Place bag in fridge and let marinate 2 hours.
4. While the chicken is marinating, make the tzatziki. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Dice the cucumber and place in bowl. Coat with 1 tsp salt and let rest 20 minutes.
5. Using hands, squeeze as much moisture as possible out of the cucumber. Place cucumber in mixing bowl.
6. To the cucumber, add Greek yogurt, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, dill, and 1 clove garlic. Stir until combined. Place in fridge until ready to use.
7. When the chicken is done marinating, remove from bag and thread onto skewers. Let grill heat up on high and brush with olive oil. 
8. Reduce heat to medium high and place chicken skewers on grill. Cook, turning every 2-3 minutes, until done, about 10-12 minutes.
9. Remove skewers from grill and let chicken rest 5 minutes.
10. While chicken is resting, place pita on grill and heat, 1-2 minutes per side.
11. Remove chicken from skewer and place on pita. Top with tzatziki sauce, tomato, onion, feta, and arugula. Serve with lemon wedge.

Did You Make This Recipe?

How did it turn out? Tag me on Instagram at @thelitkitch