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Aegean Flavours: Baked Chicken with Green Olive Sauce

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Living the Gourmet is pleased to present Aegean Flavors by Didem Senol Tiryakioglu.
Aegean Flavors covers a range of textures and flavor-keys that we at Living the Gourmet consider essential not only to good Aegean cooking but also Mediterranean cooking as a whole, and foundational to virtually all ‘fusion cuisine.’  That being said, we deeply appreciated what was on offer not only because of its familiarity, but also because of how expertly and artfully it was presented.  Paging through the book, one will notice that the chapters are titled after areas of Turkey, with the chapters’ contents dictated by what one would typically and traditionally find in those areas.  For example, the Alacati Odemis chapter features items such as mussels stewed in olive oil, and a linguine dish that features kopanisti peyniri and free-range eggs.  In this way, the book serves as tour through the Turkish countryside, while offering gourmet takes on local fare.

The book opens with Havran, featuring items such as barley pilaf with lemon rind, as well as roasted rack of lamb with pureed potatoes with olives, and a recipe for spinach and Ezine cheese pizza.  Perhaps intentionally, Havran sets the tone for the coming chapters, with its use of olives, slow-roasting, and lamb dishes.  Urla picks up where Havran leaves off, opening with a lamb and cumin seed stew with gunbali.  I was pleased to see the inclusion of an octopus dish so early on, a delicious and surprisingly versatile seafood ingredient that is often shied away from in mainstream cuisine. Urla also includes such offerings as pink potato crisps, hurma olives marinated in lavender, and a chocolate sauce among a variety of other dishes.  Overall,Urla is flavorfully diverse chapter, serving as a quick glimpse of the book’s namesake Aegean flavors. 

The chapter Tire features an ice cream with dates and cognac recipe, and then switches gears to bring us a sautéed kidney dish.  The chapter also features a marinated northern bluefin tuna dish, which I strongly recommend trying.   Tire closes off with a delicious fig tart recipe.  A whiting with olive oil and fennel recipe opens the chapter MIlas.  The chapter also features a superb pizza with red onion, tomato, olives, fresh oregano and koy peyniri recipe.  The chapter Yalikavak features several expert seafood dishes, including a leerfish schnitzel with crushed potatoes and herbs.  Yalikavak also features a recipe for lamb’s brain with purslane salad,

Continuing Yalikavak’s seafood slant, Mugla opens with a raw sea bass recipe featuring fresh tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil, and then moves onto white grouper sautéed with artichokes.  However, it was the chocolate truffle with chestnuts that caught my eye, while the mustard sauce with hot smoked lamb loins was also worth noting.  All in all, Mugla was a flavorfully diverse chapter, moving from seafood to lamb, and ending with a grilled fruit recipe.  Ula opens with a courgette (zucchini) gratin with an herb seasoning, and features a quail with rosemary and mushroom recipe.  Ula also features a delightful little recipe for egg-toast with a peach and apricot sauté.

The chapter Marmaris features what is perhaps my choice recipe from the entire book – green olives stuffed with marinated sea bass, a simple, savory recipe encapsulating a variety of Aegean and larger Mediterranean flavors, more or less a bite-sized offering of the cultural flavors and techniques on display throughout the book.  

White grouper with samphire sautéed with garlic and lemon peel is the opening recipe of Bozburbun.  From grouper, we move onto a recipe for baked figs stuffed with honey and almonds, served with warm goat cheese.  The chapter closes just as strongly as it opened, with a recipe for artisan bread rolls baked in a wood-fired oven.

Proving that figs are more versatile than typically given credit for, Datca opens with a recipe for caramelized sea bass with baked figs and herbs served with a crushed almond dressing.  From there, chapter features a diverse array of offerings, from aubergine stuffed with stewed lamb to baked sea bream with capers and olives.  The chapter also contains a recipe for green almonds in olive oil, a perfect complement to virtually any entrée featured throughout the book. 

All told, Aegean Flavors is a fantastic cookbook, worthy of being made an addition to any connoisseur’s library.  It goes without saying that the book has won a wholehearted recommendation from Living the Gourmet.

Review

— by —

Michael Pappas

 
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Baked Chicken with Green Olive Sauce

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 chicken – cut

For the Marinade:

  • 1 cup sour milk – (milk plus 1 tbs. vinegar
  • 1 tomato – diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic – chopped
  • ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 2 sprigs of rosemary
  • 2 tbs. olive oil
  • ½ tsp. salt

For the Olive Sauce:

  • 5.5 oz. green olives – pitted
  • 1 tsp. vinegar
  • ½ tsp. dried oregano
  • 2 sprigs of parsley
  • ½ grated lemon rind
  • 2 tbs. olive oil

Instructions

For Baked Chicken:

  1. Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl. Place the chicken in the bowl; cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.
  2. Preheat Oven 350 degrees F. Place the chicken pieces in a baking dish and bake for 45 – 50 minutes, until the juices run clear and they are a nice golden color.

For the Olive Sauce:

  1. Place all of the above in a food processor and process into a smooth sauce.
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Enjoy with Love,
Catherine
xo
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*I was given this product for review I was not financially compensated for this post all opinions are my own*

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Comments

  1. Sandee says

    Oh this look very good. I love the olive sauce. I’m coming right over.

    Have a fabulous day Catherine. Big hugs. ♥♥♥

    Reply

  3. Pam says

    Good review, Michael! I’ll have to check it out as it sounds like it contains many good recipes! The green olive sauce must be delicious with the chicken! Thanks for the recipe, Catherine! Hugs

    Reply

  11. Dottie says

    Hi Catherine, A very lovely dish. I like that olive sauce. Would never have thought to use an olive sauce with the chicken, I am sure it makes a great combination. I love olives and chicken so what’s not to like! Easy and tasty. The Aegean Flavors by Didem Senol Tiryakioglu must be a wonderful and intriguing book. Turkish foods are so interesting on how they mix flavors and ingredients that we would never have though of. Thanks for sharing, Blessings on a good week..Dottie 🙂

    Reply

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