Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club Memories of the Mediterranean Brings Us Chicken with Olives and Lemons and Fresh Mediterranean Salad

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  Chicken with Olives and Lemon with Fresh Mediterranean Salad
  

  
  

We are so glad you have decided to join us once again for our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. This is a monthly event where a group of ladies and one gent in two neighbouring countries get together on the first Wednesday of every month to create a delicious meal with a theme in mind. This is our third year of the Virtual Supper Club where we continue to share a love for Cooking Light magazine with an emphasis on healthy eating and living. This is a team effort where we combine what Cooking Light readers like best...good food with great company!!!This month the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club takes us on a sojourn to the Mediterranean. So easy to find delicious recipes!Would you like to join us as a guest at our virtual table? We are looking for bloggers who would like to join in our monthly themes. One of our members chooses the theme for the month and as a team we create a menu from recipes from the pages of Cooking Light magazine from appetizers to dessert following that supper theme. If so please leave a comment with your e-mail and I will include you in one of our following months themes over the next year. Or contact me through my sidebar.

Mediterranean cuisine is as diverse and varied as the languages and countries that surround the Mediterranean Sea where tradition, history, culture and food blend together to create an explosion of taste.  The Mediterranean is the deep, blue heart that gives life to the countries that surround her. Italy, Spain, France, Morocco, Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Israel have all contributed something special to the colourful, vibrant tapestry that is Mediterranean cuisine. The components of Mediterranean cuisine include heart-healthy olive oil, protein-rich legumes, piquant lemons, fish and whole grains with moderate amounts of wine and red meat. The flavours are rich, and the health benefits are hard to ignore.It was easy to come up with recipes based on this months theme with so many healthy choices. What have been up to with this months theme?

 Sandi of Whistlestop Cafe Cooking brought along a tasty appetizer of Warm Olives.

Jerry of Jerrys, Thoughts, Musings and Rants  follows up with a Classic Tzatziki. With some warm pita bread I'm in head first.

For our main dish I  offer a main dish of Chicken with Olives and Lemon. You can find the recipe below. Since I was making a real dinner in my own own home I have included the Fresh Mediterranean Salad I made as an accompaniment.

The chicken was an OK dish but the star of the show for me was the salad.

And for dessert Giz of Equal Opportunity Kitchen wowed us with theseLemon Almond Tarts. Lemon meringue is always my pie of choice.

**Chicken with Olives and Lemons**

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, halved crosswise 

Cooking spray

2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

15 oil-cured olives, pitted and sliced 

1 large shallot, sliced

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag; seal. Shake to coat chicken. Marinate 15 minutes at room temperature. Arrange chicken mixture in a broiler-safe 11 x 7–inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken evenly with oregano and the next 4 ingredients (through shallot); top with lemon slices. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes.

3. Remove chicken from oven. Preheat broiler to HIGH.

4. Place chicken 3 inches from broiler element; broil on HIGH for 3 minutes or until chicken is browned and done.

**Fresh Mediterranean Salad**

Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 garlic cloves, chopped

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salad

2 cups sliced fennel bulb (about 1 medium)

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red onion

1 cup pitted ripe olives, halved 

3/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese 

1 (15.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

6 plum tomatoes, quartered 

2 tablespoons sunflower seeds (optional)

1. To prepare vinaigrette, combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl. Gradually add oil, stirring with a whisk until blended. 

2. To prepare salad, combine fennel and the next 6 ingredients (through tomatoes) in a large bowl. Drizzle vinaigrette over salad, tossing until well combined. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

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