Greek lemon chicken

I have been obsessed with Greek cuisine ever since we went to Athens for a short vacation this year. We were lucky to have a ton of amazing friends who got us up and close to the culture, and families that educated me with recipes and flavour combinations on the lunch & dinner table.

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The promenade around Acronafplia is the perfect area to have, what the Greeks call, a volta! At a decent pace, this promenade can be covered in 15 minutes. Not sure why it took us an hour! Something about the brilliant view and the perfect temperature :-) #nafplion #acronafplia #promenade #sunshine #greece #sea #volta #travelwriter #travel #instatravel #travelgram #tourism #instago #passportready #travelblogger #wanderlust #ilovetravel #writetotravel #instatravelling #instavacation #travelblogger #holiday #vacation #nice #Greece #coast #sea #sunshine #wow #beautiful #amazing

See this Instagram photo by @bubblespuj * 20 likes

A big lunch was the perfect excuse to have gelato dinner tonight. A number of people in Athens had told me to give the gelato in Nafplion a try and so we went to the best one that Foursquare recommended to us. I must admit, this does taste quite authentic. The gelateria also serves fresh sorbet which they make everyday. Might drop by once more before we leave Nafplion in a few days :D #dinner #gelato #nafplion #greece

See this Instagram photo by @bubblespuj * 8 likes

Nafplion is a sunny little town to the south of Athens. The town was the capital of the First Hellenic Republic and of the Kingdom of Greece, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. While most of the foreigners visit Greece for its beaches, Islands and to experience her laid back vibe, I think a historic winter trip to Athens and its surrounding area is equally satisfying. It takes a little less than 2 hours to drive from Athens to Nafplion and this can easily be one's base for a few days to visit Mystras, Mycenae, Olympus and Nemea. Something to be said about the beautiful landscape one gets to experience during one's stay here and the amazing (and sometimes, too much!) food! Today is our last day in Nafplion for this trip and here's a postcard view of the lovely town to leave with! :-) #nafplion #greece #history #food #vacation #relaxation #travelwriter #travel #instatravel #travelgram #tourism #instago #passportready #travelblogger #wanderlust #ilovetravel #writetotravel #instatravelling #instavacation #travelblogger #holiday #vacation #nice #Greece #coast #sea #sunshine #wow #beautiful #amazing

See this Instagram photo by @bubblespuj * 25 likes

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After heading back I decided to venture a bit into some of my favorite recipes, but I think I have some time to go before I turn extempo. So until I reach that expertise level, I decided to listen to my favorite Greek Chef - Akis Petretzikis! :D :P

What I love about this recipe is that one can spin it off with readily available ingredients either at home, or easily available at any supermarket. Also, I love that it is healthy and budget friendly. I replaced some ingredients with what I had at home, so the taste might not be absolutely similar to the one prepared by Akis, but none of us could complain about it!

Greek lemon chicken, a quick healthy one pot recipe with delicious mediterranean flavours.

Serves: 4-5

Time for preparation: 90 minutes (most of it is oven time!)

Ingredients

1. Check thigh - 500 grams
2. Juicy lemon - 2 pieces
3. Mushroom/vegetable/chicken Stock cube - 1 cube
4. Honey - 3 tbsp
5. Mustard paste - 1.5 tbsp
6. Fresh thyme - 5 twigs
7. Dry oregano - 1 tbsp
8. Garlic - 4 cloves
9. Olive oil - 1/2 cup
10. Water - 1/2 cup
11. Potatoes - 7 huge, or 10 small ones

Method

1. Add all the ingredients from 3-10 in a blender. Add the peel of 2 lemons, and juice (of course!) to the mix and blitz until everything is nice and smooth in consistency.
2. Add the marinade mixture to clean chicken thigh and let the mixture marinate for at least 1 hour
3. While the chicken is marinating, clean the potatoes and cut them into wedges. 
4. Heat a pan and add a few spoons of olive oil. Lightly brown the potatoes for that glaze in the olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste. At this point, I would also add whatever extra spice I feel like to the potatoes (paprika powder, chilli powder) but that is completely optional. This process shouldn't take more than 5 minutes, else the potatoes start to cook.
5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (fan) and get an oven-proof dish out of your closet :D
6. Layer the potatoes on the oven-proof dish, and add the pieces of chicken on top. Don't waste any of that precious marinade, dump it all on the dish!!
7. Cover the dish in oven-proof paper or aluminium foil and bake the chicken for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, discard the foil and continue to cook for another 30 minutes.
8. Tadaa! Chicken is ready!!!

I love having this chicken with some Greek salad, or some white bread. We were lucky to have a great weather today, and were able to enjoy the chicken in our balcony. I can imagine that I'd love this lemony recipe even more when it is cold outside!