This Mediterranean Marinated Roasted Chicken brings the flavors of the Mediterranean to your table. Olive oil, lemons, garlic, rosemary and oregano brighten up chicken and fish. Plus it is Gluten Free!

What Makes This Recipe Great

• Classic Marinade Flavors
• What Makes a Great Olive Oil?
• Meal Prep for the Week
• Recipe

Classic Marinade Flavors

The ingredients in the Mediterranean Lemon Herb Marinade are some classic flavors. It is no wonder you will find them many marinade recipes.

The acidity of the red wine vinegar & lemon juice act as a tenderizer, as well as, garlic, rosemary and oregano have resinous oils that help to impart a lingering flavor. Plus, the addition of dijon acts as the emulsifier, that is, keeping the flavorful olive oil bound to the other ingredients.

What Makes a Great Olive Oil?

Sciabica Family had made olive oil in Modesto, California since 1936. I used the olive oil in the video for this recipe because the quality and flavor of their olive oils are amazing! No joke. Their motto is “Sunshine in a Bottle”, once you try it you will see why.

Virgin vs Extra Virgin what’s the difference?

According to Sciabica Family’s website – The concept of “Virgin” olive oil is actually quite simple. It means the oil was fresh-squeezed from the olive!

“Technically, it means the oil was mechanically extracted from the olive. Many oils are chemically extracted with solvents such as hexane, so that’s not allowed for virgin oil. It also means that the oil has not been treated after production to remove flavor defects in a process called refining.“

The “Extra” in Extra Virgin means the olive oil has “perfect flavor“.

“An olive oil is “virgin” if it’s been freshly squeezed from the olive, but that doesn’t mean it tastes good. The olives could have spoiled before pressing creating unpleasant “winey” or “fusty” flavors, or the oil could have oxidized after pressing creating stale “rancid” flavors.“

What about First Pressed?

Today, “First Pressed” simply means that the oil was mechanically extracted in one pass, so it’s actually redundant to say First Pressed Extra Virgin.

“AN INTERESTING FACT: “First pressed” used to refer to the old olive mill presses and how many times the olives were literally pressed, but today nearly all olive oil is spun in a centrifuge so there is no second pressing.“

What about Cold Pressed?

Gently, heating crushed olives is a normal part of high-quality olive oil production, BUT heating too much creates flavor defects, so “Cold Pressed” means olive oil not heated above 30°C (86°F) during milling.

All true Extra Virgin Olive Oil is “First Cold Pressed”, so while it sounds good, you don’t need to look for it on the label.

Meal Prep for the Week

Mediterranean Marinated Roasted Chicken is great on the grill or oven roasted Have it for the week for lunches such as salads or have ready for a quick dinner pasta.

Not to mention, the longer the chicken is marinated the more the flavors infuse into the meat. Where as, fish should marinate between 1-3 hours to avoid curing the fish with the acids in the marinade. The thickness of the fish and also the density of the cut play into the time length of the marinade.

Enjoy!