Chef Gaby Dalkin of “What’s Gaby Cooking?” Instagram fame has a third cookbook out, just in time for the mad home-cooking sessions we, the quarantined, are immersed in. “Eat What You Want: 125 Recipes for Real Life” (Abrams, $30) hit bookstore shelves last month, bringing Dalkin’s pops of signature California flavors to recipes of all types.
This hearty Greek-inspired salad arose from her obsession with feta. “I was just on this major feta bender, looking to toss it into pretty much everything,” she says. “But this salad is what I found myself making over and over again, sometimes as often as three-plus nights a week.”
Good-quality feta is key — and Dalkin prefers buying sheets of it, rather than the pre-crumbled variety — but, she says, “It’s the vinaigrette that really makes (the dish) shine.”
Here’s how it’s done.
Greek Chicken Trough
Serves 4 to 6
Greek salad ingredients
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 cups roughly chopped ripe tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes)
2 cups roughly chopped cucumbers (I used Persian cucumbers)
2 red or yellow bell peppers, cut into chunks
½ red onion, thinly sliced
8-ounce package feta, drained
2 to 3 cups baby arugula
For the chicken:
1 pound boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons Greek seasoning
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk together the garlic, olive oil, vinegar and oregano. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper. In the same bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and red onion, but don’t toss yet. Crumble the feta over the vegetables and top with the arugula. Set aside.
To make the chicken: Sprinkle the cubes of chicken breast with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a nonstick pan over high heat. Add the chicken and sprinkle with the Greek seasoning. Cook the chicken for about 10 minutes, turning every few minutes, until there’s a golden crust on all sides.
Add the hot chicken to the salad to wilt the arugula just slightly. Toss to combine. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. Serve in a big glass bowl and saddle up to the couch.
Reprinted from Eat What You Want: 125 Recipes for Real Life. Copyright © 2020 by Gaby Dalkin. Photography by Matt Armendariz. Published by Abrams.
