GreekFoodTv☼ Chicken Braised with Feta and Green Olives

Chicken, Greek olives, and feta are a great combination, all cooked with PDO extra virgin Greek olive oil. To see recipe, press more.

Chicken Braised with Feta and Green Olives

4 servings

6 Tbsp./90 ml extra-virgin Greek olive oil
¾ pound/400 g. small white stewing onions, peeled and whole
1 medium-size frying chicken (3-4 pounds/1/2 -- 2 kilos), washed and quartered
Flour seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper, for dredging
4-6 plum tomatoes peeled, seeded, and chopped
1-2 Tbsp./15-30 ml quality red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. dried oregano
Salt to taste
1/2- ¾ cup water
350 g. pitted, rinsed green olives
300 g. hard feta cheese, crumbled

For the Greek Fries (optional)
6-8 potatoes suitable for frying, peeled and cut into thick sticks
2 cups extra-virgin Greek olive oil, for frying
Salt and dried oregano for garnish
Grated kefalotyri cheese, for garnish (optional)

1. In a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven, slowly heat the olive oil. Place onions in the skillet and sauté until translucent and slightly colored. Empty the onions in a bowl and set aside. Don't throw away the oil.
2. Place the skillet back on the stove. Add more olive oil if needed. Dredge chicken lightly in seasoned flour. Shake off the excess flour. Brown the chicken by placing a few pieces at a time if necessary in the skillet and turning them frequently. (If there is more than one batch, set the pieces aside until all of the chicken is browned.)
3. Pour tomatoes over mixture, add red wine vinegar, and tomato paste. Season with oregano. Add the onions as well. Season with salt. Cover and simmer for about 35 minutes over medium heat, until chicken is almost cooked, adding water, if necessary, to keep the meat from drying out.
4. About 10 minutes before removing skillet from heat, add pitted green olives. Sprinkle crumbled feta over the chicken. Simmer another 10 minutes or so, until cheese has melted. Serve hot over rice or mashed potatoes or Greek fries.

Greek cooking offers dozens of great chicken recipes. This one, with feta and green olives, is easy and quick, and delicious.

Feta, olives, tomatoes and chicken make a great combination. Potatoes fried in olive oil go great with this chicken dish. So do mashed potatoes, rice, even pasta.

Come to visit Diane and Vassili at their GLORIOUS GREEK KITCHEN COOKING SCHOOL (Ikaria). They run cooking classes and organize culinary tours in Greece for recreational and professional cooks. They also own DV FOOD ARTS CONSULTING, a food marketing company that produces specialty books and other food-and-wine-related literature for a wide variety of clients and independently for the tourist and other markets. Diane consults on Greek cuisine for restaurants, retail outlets and producers of fine Greek foods. Vassilis Stenos (photographer) offers an extensive archive of food and travel photographs of Greece.

Diane Kochilas is an internationally known food writer, cookbook author, culinary teacher, food consultant and food "guru". She has more than 20 years' experience in the Greek kitchen. Diane divides her time between Athens, Ikaria, and New York. She is the consulting chef at Pylos, one of New York's top-rated Greek restaurants as well as consulting chef at Avli Restaurant in Chicago. She writes frequently for the US food press and appears regularly on American television. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, Gourmet, Saveur, Food & Wine, Eating Well and in other food and general-interest publications. In Athens, she is the weekly food columnist and restaurant critic for Ta Nea, the country's largest newspaper. She has written 19 books on Greek and Mediterranean cuisine, including the award-winning The Glorious Foods of Greece. Her books include: The Food and Wine of Greece, The Greek Vegetarian, The Glorious Foods of Greece, Meze, Against the Grain (good carbs), Mediterranean Grilling, Mastiha Cuisine, The Northern Greek Wine Roads Cookbook, and Aegean Cuisine (see below).