Photograph: Traditional Greek Salad via Wikipedia under GNU Free Documentation License

“The Greek food writers are right about one thing: Greece is the source for an original European cuisine, just as it is the source of Western philosophy.” Clifford A. Wright

Chicken and rice have been a part of Greek cuisine since ancient times. Potatoes and tomatoes and other products of the Americas didn’t arrive until the fifteenth century.  When they did arrive, they were incorporated in delicious and creative ways.  The first recipe below, Chicken and Potatoes (Kotopoulo me Patates) includes rosemary, garlic, onions, lemon juice and lemon zest.  It’s not untypical of the Mediterranean region generally. The second is a family recipe that incorporates savory elements of the old and new worlds: tomatoes, onions, garlic, oregano, basil, mushrooms, wine and rice.

For those with Celiac Disease or wheat-and-gluten sensitivity, as with all recipes on this site, these dishes are either naturally wheat-and-gluten free or are modified to be so.

Gluten-free Chicken and Potatoes, Kotopoulo me Patates

Serves six

The recipe:

Preheat oven to 425 degress fahrenheit

3 1/2 – 4 lb. range fed chicken, cut in eighths (skin the chicken as well, if you like)

3 lbs. large baking potatoes, scrubbed and quartered

6 cloves of garlic, slivered

1 large yellow onion

3 lemons, juiced

1/2 cup water or broth

zest of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced

Aleppo Pepper to taste

olive oil

Oil a roasting pan large enough to hold the chicken and potatoes.  Layer in the potatoes and top them first with the chicken and then distribute the garlic and onions.  Mix the lemon juice and water and pour it over all.  Next sprinkle the lemon zest, herbs, and Allepo Pepper over the top. Drizzle olive oil lightly over all.  Cover and bake for 50 minutes to an hour, until potatoes are tender and juices run clear when you pierce the chicken.

Serve hot or at room temperature with a Greek Salad (recipe follows) and a relaxing cup of espresso after.

Gluten-free Greek Dinner Salad

Serves four-six

The recipe:

4 cups romaine lettuce, torn into bit-sized pieces

2 medium ripe tomatoes, sliced

1/2 cup of kalamata olives,pitted

1 cup cucumber, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced

1/2 cup cooked chickpeas, fresh or canned

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced

1/2 cup fresh dill, minced

1 cup feta, cubed

1 tablespoon capers

Vinaigrette (below)

Mix all ingredients in a large salad bowl and dress with the vinaigrette.  If you are fortunate enough to have a nice, heavy wooden salad-bowl, rub it with a cut garlic clove first.

Vinaigrette: 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar with garlic, 1/2 cup of the best extra-virgin olive oil you can afford, sea salt, and cracked black pepper to taste.  Whisk everything together and pour over the salad.

Gluten-free Chicken Johnny, Kotopoulo Ioannis

Serves four-to-six

Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit

The recipe:

2 chicken breasts, skin if you like

1 large tomato, diced (and save the juices for the baking pan)

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced

1/2 pound sauteed mushrooms, recipe follows

3/4 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced

1/2 teaspoon dry oregano

seasalt and black pepper to taste

Place chicken in a baking pan that has been lightly oiled.  Top with vegetables.  Pour the wine over all and top with herbs and seasonings.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Cover and bake for forty minutes until vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, but not dry.  The pan will be filled with delicious juices. Serve the chicken, veggies, and joice hot over rice pilaf (recipe follows).

Gluten-free Sauteed Mushrooms

Serves two

The recipe:

1/2 pound of any type mushroom you favor, sliced thin

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon butter

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 clove garlic minced

Pour the olive oil into the pan. Melt the butter in it and add the garlic, swirling it around for about a minute.  Add the mushrooms and sautee until they start to give up their juice.  Add the wine and sherry and simmer until the liquids are absorbed and the mushrooms are starting to brown.  The mushroom are fine this way as a vegetable alone or can be added at this point to the Chicken Johnny.

Gluten-free Rice-machine Pilaf

Serves two

The recipe

1/2 small yellow onion

1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced and separated into two 1/4 measures

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup of Lundberg brown basmati

2 cups gluten-free chicken stock, homemade or Pacific Chicken Broth, which is free-range, organic, and gluten-free

1/2 cup hand-grated, quality parmesan cheese

Pour the oil in a saute pan and melt the butter in it, then sautee the onion slices gently until they are golden and beginning to carmelize.  Add the uncooked rice and stir to sautee gently for about two or three minutes and mix.

Put the rice, chicken broth, 1/4 cup parsly, and onion mixture in your rice cooker and set it to cook.  When it’s done turn it into a bowl and add the cheese, stiring well to combine.  Top with the remaining quarter- cup minced parsley.

There you go: more fine peasant food, healthy food, and wheat-free and gluten-free to. Enjoy!