Posted by Emily  Print Recipe

The main reason this recipe caught my eye is because it’s a one pot meal that you can make in your Dutch oven. I’ve been wanting a Dutch oven for years and finally got one for Christmas so anytime I see a recipe that mentions a dutch oven, I’ll almost always give it a try. I couldn’t afford one of those uber expensive Le Creuset’s, so I wound up getting one from Lodge that looks almost exactly the same and is well made, but costs about a quarter less. So far I love it and use it as much as possible: soup, spaghetti sauce, chili, oatmeal, whole chicken. And now I have this new recipe to make in it.

Couple of things:

I guess Cooking Light called it a “casserole” because it’s bunch of stuff mixed together in one dish, but I wouldn’t call it casserole. I would say it’s more of a stew, except instead of having the meat chopped up and mixed it with all the vegetables (like a beef stew), the meat sits on top of the vegetable mixture. So it’s sort of like two dishes in one.

And while I thought this dish tasted good, we used to go to an authentic Greek restaurant in Florida and compared to the stuff I got there, I thought this dish could use a bit more seasoning (though this recipe is light and the stuff I ate at the Greek restaurant most definitely wasn’t, so that’s a factor). There’s really only thyme and garlic. I’ll admit I omitted the anchovy paste/olives (because I didn’t have either and don’t particularly like either) so maybe that adds some flavor? But I’m not familiar enough with Greek cooking that I would know of other herbs and/or spices that would work instead/in addition. If anyone has suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

I’m all for easy dinners and this one definitely is. Just saute the vegetables for a bit and add the chicken and finish everything cooking in your oven. If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you could make it in a large oven-proof pot with a lid or a casserole dish covered with foil (cooking time may vary). In the end you get a complete meal with meat, potatoes, vegetables and even some cheese all in one dish with very little effort on your part.

Easy Greek Chicken Casserole

from Cooking Light Complete Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large)
• 2 tbsp. dried thyme
• 2 tsp. pepper
• 10 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups (about 2 lbs.) red potato, cubed (1/2 in.)
• 2 cups (1/2 lb.) green beans, trimmed and cut (1 inch)
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp. anchovy paste or finely chopped olives
• 2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs or 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Process

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F).

2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and saute for 3 minutes.

3. Add thyme, pepper and garlic and saute for 1 minute.

4. Increase heat to medium-high. Add potatoes and saute for 8 minutes or until they begin to brown.*

*Note – Instead of my potatoes browning, what happened was that the inside of my dutch oven got really burnt, even after I added more oil. It’s probably my fault (I think my burners get too hot), but I thought I’d mention it. Next time I think I’m going to saute everything in a non-stick skillet and then transfer to my Dutch oven after the potatoes are browned.

5. Stir in beans, water, anchovy paste and tomatoes.

6. Remove from heat. Nestle the chicken into the potato mixture, sprinkle with salt and pepper and top with feta. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Lightly stir around the potato mixture about halfway through or the potatoes on top will wind up being undercooked.

Spoon out a few cups of the potato mixture onto a plate, underneath or beside the chicken.

4 servings