Mediterranean Chicken bites is a delicious, quick and easy way to get your chicken fix, mid-week. This chicken always turns out tender and is fabulously tasty.
Not only that but it is quick, quick, QUICK to make! Aside from the initial time of marinating the chicken, the cook time is a short 10 minutes. That's because the chicken is cut into small tasty bites.
Each bite is coated liberally in a mix of Mediterranean herbs and some olive oil and marinated for about half an hour prior to cooking it.
It is a recipe I loosely adapted from on I found in The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook by Mary Younkin. I love Mary's books. They are filled with lots of simple and yet incredibly delicious recipes that are very family friendly!
I was a tiny bit afraid that my father would turn his nose up at this. He is a man of very simple tastes. For years my mother was only allowed to use salt and black pepper.
Surprisingly he didn't say too much about it. He just ate it. He did dip each piece in ketchup however. Men!
Mary recommends marinating the chicken in the herb and olive oil mixture for ten minutes. I marinated them for a bit longer as I felt it would enhance the flavours even more.
I also added some garlic and onion powder for a bit more oomph. (Now you know why I was worried about my father, lol)
He always worries if he eats anything with garlic in it that he is going to have bad breath. In all truth after he leaves here, he goes straight home and watches the news, falls asleep in his chair and then goes to bed.
So, nobody would actually be smelling his breath except for us. As we ate garlic as well, we probably wouldn't notice.
Men are often quite resistant to change of any kind. I get that. I am not fond of change either in most things. But I am open to trying new flavours and things when it comes to cooking.
So long as my protein comes from a source with fins, legs, etc. I am not overly fussy about things reptilian or that crawl on their belly.
For instance you would never get me to try frog's legs. I don't care how much you tell me they taste like chicken. And snake is definitely off my menu.
I also won't knowingly eat insects or rodents. I know in some spots of the world these are great delicacies, but not in my little world.
Having said that, I am open to most other new flavours. Whew!
Mary likes to do this with chicken thighs. I have to say I found chicken thighs to be a bit greasy and if I make it again (and I will) I would make it with breasts. This is just a personal preference.
I added some butter to the olive oil when I fried it. I find that butter gives a lovely flavor to things and it also helps it to brown nicely without it overcooking.
And when you are talking about small bits of chicken, overcooking it is a very real threat. Overcooked chicken is not nice.
I was very impressed with the way this cooks up so quickly. If you are a working person, this could be invaluable for when you get home from work and are tired but still want to get something delicious on the table.
If you make the effort to cut the chicken up the night before and have the herbs all ready to go, it would be a very quick and effortless option on the night.
We are so lucky these days and have a variety of quick side dish options available to us. I love the pouched of ready cooked rice.
If you opened one of those and popped it into the microwave along with some steam pouches of vegetables you could have supper on the table in not much more than half an hour, which would include the marinating time for the chicken.
I think these herbs would also work well with cubes of salmon or cod, or even cubes of pork. That makes this quite a versatile recipe all told.
Tonight we are having the leftovers chopped up even smaller and then fried with some rice as a stir fried rice side dish. I will add some peas and corn, and possibly some scrambled egg.
Tonight Pops has requested Shake and Bake Chicken Wings. He loves that "Coated Chicken" as he calls it. The fried rice should go well with them.
Mary suggests serving the chicken bites with pasta or rice. I think it would also go very well in a hot wrap with some shredded lettuce and chopped tomato, and perhaps a garlic mayo sauce.
There I go again with the garlic! It does sound good however!! Or maybe with some Tzatziki sauce.
I think it would also make a great salad topper. A hot salad. I love salad in any way shape or form. Hot, cold and inbetween.
Don't you love this plate? Its one of my sisters. Its just a small platter, but so very pretty. She has such a lovely collection of dishes and things she has collected.
I can't wait to go yard sale-ing with her. Bring on Spring, hopefully Covid free!
Mediterranean Chicken Bites
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Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (thighs or breasts)
- 2 TBS olive oil, divided
- 1 TBS butter
- 1 tsp dried oregano flakes
- 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1 tsp dried basil leaves
- 1 tsp dried parsley leaves
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, rubbed to break it up
- 1/2 tsp dried marjoram leaf
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- the juice of a lemon
Instructions
- Trim any fat off your chicken and then cut it into 1/2 inch cubes.
- Whisk together 1 TBS of the olive oil along with all of the dried herbs. Add the chicken cubes, tossing them to coat them in the oil and herb mixture. Leave to marinate for about 1/2 an hour or so.
- Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet, along with the butter. When the butter starts to foam add the chicken pieces.
- Stir fry and cook the chicken until it just begins to brown in places and is cooked through. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over top, give it another good stir to make sure the lemon flavor gets all the way through.
- Scoop into a serving dish and serve immediately.
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