Easy Greek Chicken Casserole

Let me say up front that I don't think there is anything Greek about this recipe. Chalk it up to those classic days of cookery whereby if a recipe contained an ingredient that was known to come from a particular country than the dish was attributed to that country. In this case the casserole features feta therefore it MUST be Greek.

That being said - we liked the sound of the recipe. It seemed to be an easy one-dish meal that is prepared and cooked in only one pot, saving you space and cleanup. Even better - it was low-fat.

I threw it together one night when we came back from a matinee figuring that it would be done in time for dinner. Oops. It was leftovers for us!

In fairness to the cooking editors over at Cooking Light - the Dutch Oven that I used was FAR too small  for the casserole. Had I used a larger one it would have cooked far more quickly than it did. As well, the chicken thighs weren't completed thawed out so it took longer than anticipated for them to cook.

Really, it is a wonder I even bothered to try and have this ready for dinner. LOL

It was finally ready well after we dug through the fridge for leftovers and we set it aside for the next night's dinner.  When we finally got the opportunity to taste this long awaited casserole we quite liked it. I followed the recipe as printed in Cooking Light but I did add additional cooking time. I also added 1 tsp of fresh oregano.

If you're looking for a new casserole to add to the repertoire of casseroles at your house you might consider giving this one a try.

Easy Greek Chicken Casserole

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large)
2 tablespoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 to 2 teaspoons black pepper
10 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups (1/2-inch) cubed red potato (about 2 pounds)
2 cups (1-inch) cut green beans (about 1/2 pound)
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons anchovy paste or finely chopped olives
2 (14.5-ounce) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
8 skinned, boned chicken thighs (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 375°.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the thyme, pepper, and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high. Add potato; sauté 8 minutes or until potato begins to brown. Stir in green beans, water, anchovy paste, and tomatoes. Remove mixture from heat. Nestle chicken thighs into potato mixture. Top with feta cheese. Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes (our casserole required at least 20 minutes more for the chicken to be cooked through).

Comments

[katie]

I cam looking for your email address (I need your real address for Season's Eatings) but...
I stayed for this chicken dish.... sounds wonderful - And is it Greek because of the feta? Or Spanish because of the anchovies? Or, maybe Italian... So hard to decide.

[book review]

I'm so hungry D

[JDeQ]

LOL - You know how it works Katie. I shall pop by your site and make sure you have my e-mail.