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This Garlic and Herb Whipped Feta with Grilled Chicken Salad is fresh, bright and loaded with Mediterranean flavours. The chicken is marinated in a combination of herbs, garlic and fresh citrus, and the salad needs just a few easy-to-find ingredients. It’s easy, healthy and perfect for the warmer months.
What You Need for the Garlic and Herb Whipped Feta
- Feta Cheese: You can use just about any type of feta cheese you like here. The flavour will vary depending on the type of milk and how salty the brine is. For best results, use a feta cheese you know and like.
- Garlic: You definitely want the garlic flavour to stand out in the whipped feta but it shouldn’t be the only thing you taste. It’s also important to keep in mind that the whipped feta will be served along with the salad and chicken so the garlic flavour will mellow out among the crowd.
- Fresh Herbs: For the best flavour and colour, use fresh herbs for the whipped feta. You can’t go wrong with a combination of fresh dill and fresh parsley. You could also experiment with cilantro, oregano, and mint.
- Greek Yogurt: You can add a couple spoonfuls of Greek yogurt to smooth out the feta and make it extra creamy. You can also substitute some of the brine the feta was packed in, but this will yield a saltier finished product.
What You Need for the Grilled Chicken Salad
- Chicken: I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts because that’s what I had. Feel free to substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs if preferred.
- Dry Herbs: Unlike the whipped feta, I prefer to marinate the chicken with dry herbs like marjoram, thyme and oregano because they don’t tend to burn and scorch as easily on the grill.
- Garlic: As always, measure this ingredient with your heart and don’t let anyone tell you there’s such a thing as too much. Just do your best to remove as much of the garlic from the chicken as you can before putting it on the grill to prevent it from burning and turning bitter.
- Lemon Juice: Marinating the chicken with some freshly-squeezed lemon juice will add flavour and help tenderize the meat. You’ll need around half a lemon for the chicken and the other half for the salad dressing.
- Extra-virgin Olive Oil: Some for the salad and some to marinate the chicken.
- Lettuce: For best results, use a crunchy lettuce like Romaine. I was only able to find iceberg at the time so that’s what I used. It still tasted great but iceberg will start to wilt fairly quickly so it’s not ideal if you plan on making this salad ahead of time.
- Cucumber: For texture and flavour, I like to add some sliced cucumbers.
- Cherry Tomatoes: I love the slightly acidic taste and crisp texture of cherry tomatoes in this salad. Feel free to substitute your favourite tomato variety.
- Green Onions: For colour and a little bit of bite, add some thinly sliced green onions to the salad.
- Red Onion: I like to grill some red onion alongside the chicken. It gets sweet and juicy and works very well with the other ingredients.
- Fresh Dill: I like to add some roughly torn fresh dill to the salad. It adds flavour and aroma.
- Pickled Peperoncini Peppers: You can either slice them up and toss them in the salad, or serve them whole as a garnish in case your family or guests prefer things on the mild side.
Garlic and Herb Whipped Feta with Grilled Chicken
This Garlic and Herb Whipped Feta with Grilled Chicken Salad is fresh, bright and loaded with Mediterranean flavours.
Ingredients
For the Whipped Feta:
- 7 ounces feta cheese
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1/8 cup fresh parsley
- 1/8 cup fresh dill
For the Grilled Chicken Salad:
- 2 chicken breasts
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- Juice of 1 lemon, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon dry marjoram
- ½ teaspoon dry thyme
- ½ teaspoon dry oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra
- ¼ teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper, plus extra
- 1 red onion, sliced into ¼” discs
- 2 heads romaine lettuce, thinly sliced, substitute 1 small head iceberg lettuce
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/8 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped
- 4 pickled peperoncini peppers, optional, substitute pickled hot peppers of choice
Instructions
For the Whipped Feta:
- Add the feta, yogurt, garlic, parsley and dill to a food processor and blend on high until completely smooth and creamy. You may need to wipe down the sides of the container from time to time.
- Transfer to a bowl or mason jar and keep refrigerated up to 5 days.
For the Grilled Chicken Salad:
- In a shallow bowl, combine the chicken breasts, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, juice of half a lemon, garlic, marjoram, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Toss to coat, cover and refrigerate 1 to 4 hours.
- When ready to cook, preheat your Traeger Grill to 500 F.
- Drizzle both sides of the red onion slices with a small amount of olive oil and lightly season with salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken breasts and red onion on the grill, close the grill door and cook until grill marks form, around 6 minutes. If using a conventional grill, cook the chicken over medium heat. Flip and cook the other side until grill marks form and the thickest part of the chicken registers 160F. Transfer the chicken and onions to a board and cover with foil to keep warm. Let the chicken rest at least 5 minutes before slicing.
- In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, green onion, cucumber, tomatoes, and dill. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and the remaining lemon juice. Lightly season with salt and pepper to taste and toss to coat.
- To serve, spoon the whipped feta onto individual plates. Top with the salad and sliced chicken. Garnish with pickled pepperoncini peppers and enjoy immediately.
Video
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About the Author
Hi, i’m Ronny! In 2013, after a lifetime of struggling with my weight and body issues, I rehabilitated my relationship with food, lost over 40 pounds and completely changed my life.
