This week’s recipe was something I was going to make as soon as I saw it in my most recent Food & Wine edition. It was just a bonus that it happened to be the perfect meal to get the most use out of my little Le Creuset.
The picture alone was enough to pique my interest in this summer heat: a simple grilled chicken breast atop a dip with a light salad. Then, I actually read the recipe and saw that the dip was not hummus as I presumed but a pepper feta dip. That sold it for me. I was all in.
I wrote down the recipe ingredients, and my sweetie masked up and did our weekly shopping.
When it came time to make it, I looked closer at the directions and saw to my delight that every part that required cooking would work in my small skillet.
Like a lot of the recipes I’ve made this year — and I’ve learned since I started focusing on using a specific piece of kitchen equipment — there’s more than one way to make this dinner.
If you’re an outdoor griller, feel free to grill the chicken there (the recipe actually called for a grill pan, which is a lot like my small skillet but with ridges). If you would prefer to toast the pita in a toaster, fine. You could even broil the peppers to break them down instead of sauteing them in a small skillet, like the recipe called for.
However, for me, it was perfect to use just the one piece of cooking equipment. (Don’t get me wrong, this recipe dirties a fair number of dishes, just I only used the skillet for cooking.) I didn’t really even bother to do cleaning between uses.
Everything turned out perfectly, though my chicken needed to cook for longer as I admittedly used two chicken breasts instead of just the one the recipe called for since it was supposed to be a dinner for one. I likewise doubled up on everything else.
While I really enjoyed both courses and how they worked well together — the pepper dip complements the same raw peppers in the fattoush and the chicken is so simple to let the dip shine — the real standout was the three-ingredient dip.
If you’re feeling lazy, buy a salad, buy some rotisserie chicken, but place it upon this awesome dip. Or just make the dip. It’s amazing.
Here’s what I did, doubling the recipe (that still left leftover dip!):
Ingredients
- 6 T. olive oil, divided
- 4 medium banana peppers or other mild peppers (we used anaheim, which were a twitch spicier), seeded and sliced, divided
- 8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
- 3 T. lemon juice, divided
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 pita
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ~12 grape tomatoes
- 1 small cucumber, halved and sliced
- 2 T. red onion, diced
- ~12 pitted kalamata olives, halved
- Torn mint or parsley, to taste
Directions
Heat 2 T. oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add about half the sliced peppers and cook, stirring occasionally until softened and lightly browned. Transfer to a blender or a food processor and let cool completely.
Meanwhile, use another 2 T. to coat the chicken in oil and re-coat the small skillet. Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Grill chicken breasts about 8 minutes per side until the thickest part reaches 155 degrees (it will continue to cook while it cools). Remove from heat and set aside to let rest for 10 minutes.
Then, grill the pita, turning often, until crisp and lightly charred, 4 to 6 minutes. Let cool slightly while bringing the salad together.
Combine the remaining raw peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives, mint or parsley. Add the remaining 2 T. olive oil, 1 T. lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Tear up the pita into about 1 inch pieces, and stir into the salad.
Finally, with the sauteed peppers cooled, add the feta and the remaining 2 T. lemon juice. Process until thick and creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
To serve, place about ¼ c. of the dip on each of two plates; slice the chicken, and place atop the dip; and divide the salad on the plates (or in a separate bowl); and enjoy!