Greek Chicken...From the Island of Crete

There are so many gorgeous islands to choose from when venturing to Greece! How do you decide which ones to visit? Very good question! It was tough to decide, but we finally settled on Santorini and Crete. Santorini because...do I even have to say anything? Iconic, stunning, relaxing...But why Crete?

Crete is the largest of the islands and one of the furthest south, so we thought we might get some warmer temperatures, as we were going in October. Our research efforts were rewarded and we were privy to near perfect weather and a delightful surprise in the Island of Crete.

The island has a diverse topography from low, olive tree covered mountains to picturesque pink sand beaches. Our three days on Crete were not nearly enough to see all the riches this glorious island has to offer, but we did manage to see some spectacular beaches, ancient Roman caves and quaint seaside villages.

We rented a car, which I highly recommend, and headed up to our little hotel/village in the lovely green hills overlooking the tourquoise mediterranean sea. Kapsaliana Village Hotel is just a bit out of town, but well worth the drive! This hotel was an olive producing village years ago, and has been meticulously renovated into a unique hotel. Each room was formerly a dwelling for the workers at the olive mill. The entire village has been transformed into a gorgeous hotel with ocean views, set among groves of glorious olive trees.

We had our own cozy stone house, complete with lounge chairs and ocean view. There is a refreshing pool and cozy restaurant. The chef at this hotel is a 4 star chef who serves his updated take on Greek classics and needless to say, we spent every evening anticipating his creations!

One day we took advantage of Chef Vasilis' olive oil tasting class, which was incredible! We learned so much about the history of Greek olive oil and about the differences in various types of olive oils. We tasted a fresh pressed oil (pressed that morning!) which was so spicy! Quite a surprise! We were given small blue glasses to taste with and told to warm the oil in our hands to enhance it's flavor. We learned that olive oil should always be stored in colored glass to preserve it's freshness. We left feeling pretty good about our new found olive oil knowledge and took home a bottle of the local oil. We also learned that Greeks consume an average of 26 liters of olive oil each year! Take that you Italians! (Don't get me wrong, I love my Italians). However, the olive trees in Crete were planted some time around 3500BC, so these Greeks obviously know their stuff!

Although we would have been very happy to spend all of our time at Kapsaliana Village and never leave, we did come all the way across the Atlantic and so felt obligated to explore the island a bit. We were not disappointed! We visited an adorable little harbor town called Matala which is also famous for it's "hippie caves", where Joni Mitchell is said to have lived for a time, back in the 60's. The caves are actually Roman tombs dating back to 1 and 2 BC.

Quite nearby to the hotel is the Arkadi Monastery, which is worth seeing. It's said that the olive oil in this area was produced for this monastery. It's a quick drive from Kapsaliana Village and I do suggest taking a few hours to see this beauty.

We also took a day and drove to the famous Balos Beach and Elafonisi Beach. Balos Beach is not the easiest to get to and must be reached by ferry or a somewhat strenuous hike. (So, after that four hour Peruvian hike 1600km up La Montania, which included part of the Inca Trail, nothing can phase me...right?) Well...this was a bit of a hike. It was worth all the sweat though! As we climbed over the top of the hill, the most incredible bay came into view. I've never seen anything like it with it's swirling, white sand and crystal clear, blue water. What a treat! Definitely worth every drop of sweat, of which there where many.

We found our sparkling pink sand beach here, and did enjoy it, but we had heard that Elefonisi was where the real pink beach was. So, we begrudgingly left this paradise and headed back through the hills to find the holy grail of pink sand beaches. We drove back through the beautiful Cretan countryside for an hour or so and arrived at Elefonisi in great expectation of pinkness. However, this beach was not pink at all! For all of you pink sand beach officianados, it depends on the time of year and the tides. So ...we did find an amazing sunset at Elefonisi and some delicious Greek food... and a little Orzo to toast our last day in Crete.

I could happily have spent another week, month or year in Greece, but for now, I will have to console myself with this Greek Chicken dish, inspired by my time in the islands.

It's actually so easy, I almost feel silly posting this! But once you taste it, you will thank me and maybe start to plan your trip to Greece...

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix up some olive oil, dried oregano, dried thyme, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the chicken thighs and let sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. I used the Olive oil from Kapsiliana Village!

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade and brown, skin side down in the pan. This should take about 5 minutes. While the chicken is browning,

slice one onion into very thin slices. Peel 8 garlic cloves and leave whole. Drain and cut in half, 1/2 cup artichoke hearts. Cut two lemons in half and prepare 1/2 cup seeded Kalamata Olives. Mix the veggies with the remaining marinade.

When the chicken has browned, turn the thighs over and add in the marinade and veggies. Make sure the lemon halves are face down in the pan so they can get golden brown while roasting. Spead the veggies evenly in the pan to roast.

Roast the chicken with the veggies for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and the chicken is 165 degrees. Serve the chicken alone with the delicious pan sauce or over rice. Opah!

Greek Chicken with Artichoke Hearts and Olives

Yield: 4 Servings

Prep time: 10 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on and patted dry

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

• ½ teaspoon dried thyme

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 onion, thinly sliced

• 8 whole garlic cloves, peeled

• 2 lemons cut in half

• ½ cup Kalamata olives

• ½ cup canned or jarred artichoke hearts, drained

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, oregano, thyme, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Put thighs in bowl and coat with marinade.

Heat one tablespoon olive oil in large, ovenproof pan over medium high heat. Place chicken thighs, skin side down, in pan and sear for 5 minutes or until the skin is just starting to brown. While the chicken is browning, add the onions, garlic cloves, olives and artichoke hearts and lemon halves to the remaining marinade in bowl and toss. When the chicken is just beginning to brown, turn the thighs over and add onion slices, garlic cloves, lemon halves(face down), olives and artichoke hearts, spreading evenly in pan. Roast chicken for 35-40 minutes until skin is golden brown and temperature is at 165 degrees.

SPECIAL DIET INFORMATION

Lectin Free, Gluten Free, Keto