Za’atar Chicken Thighs
I am all about flavor and enjoy trying new things. One little thing about me is I love to find interesting and new spices, sauces, condiments, etc. and see what I can do with them. Stores that carry unusual or unique spice blends are as exciting to me as shoe stores are for other ladies. I spend too much time in the food section at HomeGoods, looking at every single product, eyeing to see which one is calling out a challenge to me.
When I was introduced to Za’atar seasoning, I had a do a little research, but soon found out that many of the spices in this blend I was already familiar with. There’s quite a bit you can do with this dry seasoning, so don’t feel like you’ll use it once and then it will be pushed to the back of your pantry, never to be seen again. As I play around some more with Za’atar, I will continue to post delicious recipes.
Za’atar is a fairly “new-to-me” spice, but I am thrilled to have made acquaintances. I used this spice in my Green Shakshuka, which you should check out if you like Middle Eastern flavors. Za’atar is generally made up of sumac, thyme, sesame seeds, oregano… As with any other spice blend, different brands will vary by the amounts of each spice used per jar, but they’ll probably all have the same backbone of the blend.
Enjoy making and eating this one-pan dinner. You have tanginess from lemon and the sumac spice, smokiness from paprika, earthiness from cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. It’s absolutely a mouthful of flavor!
Za'atar Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 3/4 cup lemon-infused extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- 1 tablespoon sumac spice
- 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika, hot or mild
- 2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 2 large red onions, quartered
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 lemon, sliced
Stovetop:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 chicken thighs, on the bone, with skin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons Za'atar seasoning
- 2-3 fresh serrano peppers, sliced, optional for heat
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
- 1 1/2 cups basmati rice, uncooked
- 2 1/2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade or a very good brand with lots of flavor
Instructions
- Place all the marinade ingredients into a Ziplock bag or medium bowl and combine well. Add the chicken thighs and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, up to 8 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat with the 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil.
- Remove thighs from marinade, reserving marinade. Brown both sides of thighs in the hot oil, and set aside on a plate. You’re wanting to cook and brown the chicken skin so that it becomes crispy.
- Add the reserved onions from marinade to the pan and gently caramelize them, about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas, salt and pepper, and stir.
- Sprinkle the rice over the vegetables, but do not stir. Slowly add the chicken stock to the rice without stirring.
- Return the chicken thighs to the pan, skin side up, gently nestling them down into the mixture. Sprinkle thee Za’atar seasoning over the entire top of the mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees.
- Remove from the oven, drizzle with more lemon oil, and serve hot.
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