[koukouvagia]

Inviting a friend over who eats only chicken. So I'm thinking... Greek chicken. Not sure what that means...

There are many ways to make a chicken Greek, but none of those ways include feta cheese sorry, it's not a traditional pairing. Keep all the other stuff, put the feta into something else. Greeks do cook "en papillote" but not chicken, only reason being that it sacrifices the crispy skin. But I've seen lots of pork/potato or lamb/potato papilotttes.

Other than that there is no wrong way to go about this. The lemon, oregano, and olive oil make this greek. Traditionally roast chicken is served with lemon roasted potatoes as a classic side dish. I like your last idea the best, spatchcocked on the grill with open tray of roasties underneath to catch the drippings. I would parboil the potatoes first since otherwise they'll take longer to cook than the chicken.

There is also another dish called Stifado you may be interested in, which is a very aromatic onion stew made with tomatoes, red wine, a little red wine vinegar, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, bay leaf, pepper and pearl onions with meat of choice (beef, chicken, or rabbit). It is traditionally served with french fries and crusty bread.

This also looks interesting but again I would not add the feta http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12308-greek-chicken-stew-with-cauliflower-and-olives

 

[koukouvagia]

Looks very Greek how did it turn out?!

 

[koukouvagia]

Call me contrarian but olive oil, lemon, and oregano is not exclusively Greek.

I know it's stereotypical, but filo dough, feta, olives, and cucumber sounds more Greek to me. Not necessarily in the same dish, though.

There are a lot of Greek dishes that don't contain any of those ingredients. Maybe lemon, oregano and olive oil are not exclusively Greek in this global world but it's classic. And Greeks are usually the only ones that will leave those ingredients as is without adding anything else. Perhaps.

 

[koukouvagia]

Oh I'd love a discussion about that, it's a pretty big topic. But remember there are regions within regions. Greece for example is region by region. Some foods from other regions I don't even recognize. If my grandmother and my husband's grandmother were in a room together they'd probably not understand each others dialect or customs.

It doesn't surprise me that FrenchFries had an experience in Santorini that is quite different than what he may experience on my island.

Plus there is so much more to food than technique and ingredients. How it fits into the daily life, what role food plays in a culture's life these things are also important beyond the food itself. Fascinating topic.

 

[koukouvagia]

That's great!

 

[koukouvagia]

I never marinate with lemon, I don't like the texture it gives the meat. If you want a really zesty lemon flavor on grilled chicken you gotta baste with lemon as it cooks. A lot of lemon. Don't be afraid. I usually make a baste with lemon, roasted garlic purer and fresh herbs and baste as I grill. It really packs a punch.

 

[koukouvagia]

Marinate in Italian dressing for authenticity.

Yes yes that's what greeks do for sure /img/vbsmilies/smilies/lookaround.gif