Souvla San Francisco will always have a special place in my heart. This Souvla salad from the famous restaurant is made with Greek yogurt, chicken, spices, oranges and pickled onion blended together on a bed of lettuce.
What is Souvla?
Souvla, a traditional Greek method of grilling, involves slow-cooking large cuts of meat on a skewer over an open flame. The result is juicy and flavorful meat with a crisp exterior. Souvla San Francisco is a restaurant in San Francisco offering delicious Greek dishes like salads and sandwiches with the traditional cooking method. While not our usual 5 ingredient recipe, if you're looking for a quick and easy Mediterranean style salad, try our lemon salad with zucchini ribbons, or our pear honeycomb salad.
Ingredients
Let's start making our Souvla salad! You will need:
Yogurt Dressing:
- Greek yogurt
- oil
- garlic clove, minced
- dried dill
- dried parsley
- dried chives
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- salt
- black pepper
- white sugar
- Dash of lemon juice
Chicken
- chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally
- lemon juice
- garlic clove, minced
- oil, for cooking
Pickled Onion:
- red onion, diced
- salt
- white sugar
- white wine vinegar, or cider vinegar
Kale:
- kale, chopped into bite size pieces
- olive oil
- salt
Salad
- grapefruit or orange
- romaine lettuce
- dried fennel
- snow peas (optional)
- parmesan cheese
- Pea shoots, for topping
- Mizithra Cheese, for topping
Instructions
Preparing the Dressing: Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until serving. For advance preparation, the dressing can be made the night before and stored in an airtight container or mason jar for several days.
Marinating the Chicken: In a bowl, mix lemon juice, garlic, and oil. Transfer the mixture to a Ziploc bag and add the chicken. Seal the bag, toss to coat the chicken, and allow it to marinate for 1 to 24 hours before cooking.
Pickling the Onions: Combine onions, salt, sugar, and vinegar, letting them sit for up to an hour to soften. Alternatively, for quick pickling, place all ingredients in a small saucepan, and cook on low heat for several minutes until the onions soften.
Preparing the Kale: Place kale in a Ziploc bag, drizzle with oil and salt, then seal the bag. Toss the oil and kale together until evenly coated, and allow it to sit for 30 minutes.
Cooking the Chicken: In a skillet, place the marinated chicken over medium-high heat. Cook for several minutes until cooked and slightly charred, then flip the chicken and cook the other side until thoroughly done. Remove the chicken from the skillet, let it cool for a few minutes, and then slice it into strips.
Assembling the Salad: In a large bowl, place the lettuce and sprinkle fennel seeds over it. Arrange the prepared kale on top. Peel and segment the grapefruit or orange, placing the segments in the salad. Add the cooked chicken, snow peas (if using), and Parmesan cheese. Top the salad with pickled onions. Drizzle the dressing over the top; if the dressing thickens, use water to achieve the desired consistency. Serve and enjoy.
Storing
You can store this salad for several days after making. Store in the refrigerator.
Souvla Salad
Equipment
- salad bowl
Ingredients
- Yogurt Dressing:
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon oil preferably olive oil
- 1 whole garlic clove minced
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dried chives
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon white sugar
- Dash of lemon juice
- Chicken
- 2 chicken breasts cut in half horizontally
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 whole garlic clove minced
- 1 tablespoon oil for cooking
- Pickled Onion:
- ½ red onion halved then finely sliced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- ½ cup white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
- See notes for quick pickling below
- Kale:
- 3 cups kale chopped into bite size pieces
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of salt
- Salad;
- 1 whole grapefruit or orange cut into
- 4 cups romaine lettuce torn or cut into bite size pieces
- ½-1 teaspoon dried fennel
- 1 cup snow peas optional
- ½ cup shredded parmesan
- Pea shoots for topping
- Mizithra Cheese for topping
Instructions
- Directions for Making Salad:
- To Make the Dressing: Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl. Place dressing in refrigerator until ready to eat. (The dressing can be made the night before. Store the dressing in an airtight container or mason jar for several days).
- To Make the Chicken: Mix together the lemon juice, garlic and oil. Pour the mixture into a Ziploc bag. Add the chicken, seal the bag and toss to coat. Allow the chicken to sit for 1 hour and up to 24 hours before cooking.
- To Make the Pickled Onions: Place the onions and salt, sugar and vinegar and let it sit for up to one hour to soften the onions. For quick pickling, place all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook on low heat for several minutes until onion is softened.
- Kale: Place the kale in a Ziploc bag and drizzle with the oil and salt. Seal the bag, toss the oil and kale together until all the kale is covered in oil, then allow to sit for 30 minutes.
- To cook the Chicken: Place the chicken in a skillet. Heat skillet and chicken to medium high heat, cooking for several minutes until cooked and slighly charred, then flip the chicken and cook on the other side until cooked thoroughly, Remove chicken from skillet, allow to cool for several minutes, then slice into strips.
- To Assemble the Salad: Place the lettuce in a large bowl. Sprinkle lettuce with fennel seeds then arrange the kale on top. Peel and segment the grapefruit or orange and arrange in the salad. Place the chicken on the salad, then the sprinkle with snow peas (if using) and parmesan cheese. Top with pickled onions. Drizzle the dressing over the top (dressing may thicken, use some water to thin to desired consistency if needed). Serve.
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