Greek chicken pasta salad

Use a zester or small-holed cheese grater to remove the zest from the lemon. Set the zest aside. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into a separate bowl. You'll need at least 1/4 cup juice.

Prepare the dressing and marinade by mincing two of the three cloves of garlic and combining them with 1/4 cup lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt, some freshly ground pepper, and a pinch of the lemon zest. Whisk these ingredients until well combined.

Place the chicken in a small zip lock bag and add half of the dressing, saving the rest to add to the salad later. Mince one more clove of garlic and add it to the bag with the chicken and marinade. Squeeze the air out and massage the bag to make sure the fillets are well coated in the marinade. Refrigerate the fillets for at least 30 minutes.

While the chicken is marinating, cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain and let cool.

Heat a skillet over a medium flame. Once hot, add the marinated chicken and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, until well browned and cooked through. There should be enough oil in the marinade to keep the meat from sticking. Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Once slightly cooled, chop the chicken into smaller, bite-sized pieces.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Dice the cucumber and bell pepper. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Pull the parsley leaves from the stems and give them a rough chop.

Finally, build the salad. Add the cooked and cooled pasta to a large bowl. Top the pasta with the cucumber, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, parsley, and chopped chicken. Crumble the feta over top and add a pinch or two of the lemon zest. Pour the remaining dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.