Chicken Kleftiko
Chicken kleftiko is a classic Greek dish of chicken breasts baked in sealed parchment packets with feta, tomato, peppers, carrots, onion, oregano and sweet wine until meltingly tender, then broiled and served with the reduced pan juices.
Ingredients
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts about 6 oz / 170 g each
- 7 ½ oz feta cheese sliced or crumbled, divided
- 1 large tomato sliced
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and sliced
- 3 carrots peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- 1 small bunch fresh parsley chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoon sugar divided
- ¾ cup sweet white wine such as Samos Muscat, divided
- 9 tablespoon olive oil divided (3 tablespoon per packet)
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano divided
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch optional, for thickening the sauce
- 1 tablespoon water optional, for thickening the sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Cut three large sheets of parchment paper (about 15 inches square), each big enough to hold a chicken breast with its vegetables and liquid and still gather up into a sealed bundle.
- Place one chicken breast in the center of each sheet and season both sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle each breast with ½ teaspoon of the oregano and top it with a third of the feta (about 70 g / 2 ½ oz).
- Divide the vegetables evenly between the three packets, layering them over the chicken in this order: tomato slices, green pepper, carrots and onion, then finish with the parsley. Sprinkle ½ tablespoon of sugar over each.
- Set the open packets snugly side by side in a baking dish so they hold each other upright. Pour ¼ cup of wine and 3 tablespoons of olive oil into each packet, then gather the parchment up around the filling and tie each bundle tightly closed with kitchen twine.
- Lightly spritz the outside of the packets with water (this helps keep the paper from scorching) and bake on the lowest oven rack for 1 hour.
- Remove the dish from the oven and carefully open the packets, watching for hot steam. Move the oven rack to the middle position and switch the oven to broil (or raise it to 437°F / 225°C). Broil the open packets for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables on top are browned at the edges. Stay close to the oven, because the broiler can scorch the vegetables quickly.
- Carefully pour the cooking liquid from the packets into a small saucepan and boil it for 5 minutes to reduce. For a thicker sauce, whisk in the cornstarch dissolved in the water and simmer for 1 minute more.
- Check that the chicken reads 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a platter, spoon the sauce over the top and serve.
Notes
No twine? Fold the parchment edges over several times and crimp them tightly, or wrap each parchment packet loosely in foil.
Bone-in thighs: Use 6 bone-in, skin-on thighs (2 per packet) and bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes before broiling.
Olive oil: This is the contributor's traditional amount. You can cut it to 1 ½ tablespoons per packet for a lighter sauce.
Nutrition
Calories: 950kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 49gFat: 62gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 35gCholesterol: 172mgSodium: 1071mgPotassium: 1309mgFiber: 5gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 12811IUVitamin C: 74mgCalcium: 444mgIron: 4mg
Nutrition details are an estimate, per serving.
