Sandwich and Wrap Recipes
Aegean Chicken Panini with Caramelized Cippolini
Ingredients
Sweet Tzatziki Sauce
- 6 ounces plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup cucumber, skinned, cut into small dice
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons fig preserves
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Chicken
- 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, julienne cut
- 1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, drained, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh arugula leaves
- 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon-pepper seasoning
- 6 Cippolini onions, skinned, ends trimmed and cut into slices
- 5 (7 inch) round pocketless pita breads, cut in half to form half circles (10 total)
- 6 ounces Kasseri cheese (Greek melting cheese), cut into 10 slices
Garnish
Instructions
Sweet Tzatziki Sauce
- Combine yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, fig preserves, garlic, 2-tablespoons olive oil, sea salt and black pepper in a bowl.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Chicken
- In another bowl combine red peppers, artichoke hearts and arugula.
- Flatten each chicken piece between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper, with a meat mallet until uniformly 1/4-inch thick.
- Season chicken on both sides with lemon-pepper.
- In a large nonstick skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the onions to skillet and cook until caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 7 to 9 minutes.
- Remove onions to a plate.
- Maintaining skillet heat add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan and when oil is hot add the chicken pieces.
- Cook chicken for 4 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink.
- Remove chicken to a plate.
- Heat a Panini maker.
- Divide the pitas into 2 groups of 5 pieces in each group.
- Spread one tablespoon of Tzatziki sauce across the surface of one group of 5 pita halves, top sauce with a layer of artichoke mixture then a chicken piece(s) cut to pita size.
- Top chicken with a spoonful of onions, then cheese and top with a remaining pita piece.
- Grill in batches in the Panini maker until cheese is melted and grill marks are visible.
- Serve Paninis with a dollop of Tzatziki sauce alongside, cutting each Panini in half if desired.
Garnish
- Garnish with dill.
Attribution
Recipe and photo used with permission from:
National Chicken Council