Quick and easy dinner that got ready under 15 minutes and impressed the better half on V-Day eve too!
For you to score under 15 minutes or exact, get the marination ready. For 2 chicken breasts, you will need:
3-4 sprigs of rosemary
2 tablespoons of Lebanese zaa’tar
1 shot of orange juice (add this discreetly, as if it were a secret ingredient that others aren’t supposed to know)
salt and pepper for seasoning
Cut the breasts in half; so you will have 4 pieces in total. Coat the chicken pieces with the dry rub. Place them in a container. Add the shot of orange juice and let it soak in for 4 hours.
For the salad, take fresh greens and tear them up roughly by hand. Add a small part of chopped walnuts. For the dressing, use balsamic with olive oil. Pour the dressing and toss the salad well.
Heat your griddle pan, throw in a couple of glugs of olive oil and grill in your marinated chicken pieces. Once done, let them rest for a couple of minutes.
Plate in the greens, slide up the chicken pieces beside them.
So, before I forget the password to my food blog, I decide to post the last 2 memorable meals that I rustled up. This one is “Zaatar Grilled Chicken on a bed of Sweet Potato Mash”.
Ever since I have started grilling, I realise that the meats remain the constant. The variable (read accompaniments) need to be varied timely to keep any recipe alive. This is just my rusted a-mathematical brain trying to postulate a theorem. If you want to skip this bit (and not know me) then scroll down to the recipe directly.
Grilled Zaatar Chicken on Sweet Spuds
For the grilled chicken:
1 breast of chicken
2 teaspoons of za’atar
Salt to taste
Pepper to your liking
Olive oil to cover both sides of the chicken
For the mashed potatoes:
2 medium-sized sweet potato
1 small regular potato
100 ml of single cream
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 knob of butter
Salt and pepper
Peel the potatoes and set them to boil. I usually cut them up into quarters to ensure even and quicker cooking. While the spuds are bubbling away, prepare the chicken.
Za’atar robed chicken breast
Beat it lightly with a mallet to get it to even thickness. Then apply salt and pepper to both sides. Then add about 1 to 2 teaspoons of fresh za’atar to one side. Add a small drizzle of olive oil and let the chicken rest.
Check on the potatoes. They should almost be done. Run a knife to see if they are softening up. Once they do, drain the water, transfer the spuds to a bowl and start mashing them up. Throw in a knob of butter and a hint of oregano. Mash them further. Use all the force you think you have when you watch The Dark Knight wrestling Bane. Add in the cream and mix it all together. Add salt and pepper. And now for the dreaded part of checking on your cooking prowess – taste a bit of the mash. Good? Great! Leave it for the time being.
Get your skillet out and have it nice and hot and carefully place in your chicken. Grill both sides. You’d notice that the za’atar side darkens up. Do not fume. It is only crusting up and becoming more flavourful.
Crunchy Grilled Za’atar Chicken
Once done, rest the chicken. Slice them up and serve on a generous bed of creamy mashed sweet spuds.
What I loved most is how the za’atar revealed all its flavours while on the grill. You will love the prominent sesame crunch to the grilled chicken.
Enjoy!
On my #Burp&Belch meter, I’d give it 3 and 1/2 burps (out of 5)!
