Take a trip to the Mediterranean with olive, feta cheese and fresh basil-topped chicken.

By SARA VANDEN BERGE

The Husband and I are huge fans of Mediterranean food.

One of our favorite Austin restaurants – Aba – serves some of the best Mediterranean food we’ve ever had. (You can read about it here.)

And we recently discovered Byblos in Miami that now tops our list of favorite places to dine.

But if you don’t have plans to visit Austin or Miami anytime soon and you love Mediterranean food as much as we do, well, this is your lucky day.

Because this recipe for Mediterranean chicken topped with olives, feta cheese, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion and fresh basil is AH-MAZ-ING.

(It’s also a recipe from Julie Brinkley so it’s healthy too. In fact, it’s one of the recipes that helped me lose 20 pounds.)

If you decide to make it (and you absolutely should), give yourself a little extra time to let the chicken soak up the delicious marinade. You won’t be sorry.

Now, here’s how to get started.

FIRST, MAKE THE MARINADE

This recipe calls for four (six-ounce) chicken breasts you’ll marinade in a one-gallon Ziploc bag for six to 10 hours.

To make the marinade, simply combine all of the following ingredients together. (Yeah, it’s super simple.)

½ cup olive oil

1/3 cup Nakano Original Seasoned Rice Vinegar

2 cloves minced garlic

2 slices red onion

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tbsp. fresh chopped basil

1 tsp. fresh oregano

Once the chicken is done marinating, you can cook it on a grill, skillet or bake in the oven at 350 degrees until it’s fully cooked.

While it’s cooking, you'll want to make the topping.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED

1 ½ tsp. olive oil

2 teaspoons Nakano Original Seasoned Rice Vinegar

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. onion powder

1/8 tsp. dried basil

1/8 tsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

½ cup chopped grape tomatoes

½ cup chopped cucumbers

12 pitted Kalamata olives, cut in half

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves

1 thin slice red onion, chopped

2 ounces crumbled feta cheese. (I cheat and use a little more.)

Combine all of that deliciousness together and spread evenly on top of the cooked chicken.

I like to serve this with a side Caesar salad and glass of Pinot Grigio.

Enjoy!