Zaatar Chicken Salad Bowl

An easy weeknight chicken dinner that will have your taste buds going on a rollercoaster ride of flavors.

I’ve been experimenting with making wholesome salads that are substantial enough to be a full dinner. And I can honestly say this recipe checks all the boxes. Chicken breast cubed and combined with Mediterranean herbs, spices is grilled, along with chopped vegetables, a couple of awesome sauces is what takes this flavorful, healthful midweek dinner to go from simple weeknight to extraordinary weeknight.

Chicken breast can be a little tricky to keep moist and tends to have a reputation of being dry, boring and reserved for bodybuilders and elite athletes. Not here, for this recipe we cube the chicken breast into small bite sized pieces, marinate them with flavorful spices and cook them briefly over high heat. This way the pieces cook before they go dry retaining their moisture. The citrus-based marinade with olive oil, yogurt and all the MiddleEastern/Mediterranean spices are the key to the success of this recipe. The olive oil and yogurt keep the chicken moist and acts as a tenderizer, meanwhile, the spices infusing them with awesome flavor.

You are probably familiar with the spice blend used in the recipe. The new entrant Za’atar may hold you back from this recipe. So let me introduce you to Za’atar in case you’re not familiar, it is an unique and intense Middle Eastern/Mediterranean spice blend that has both earthy, herbaceous with citrus undertones. It may include herbs and spices like marjoram or wild thyme, oregano, and sumac, and always includes sesame seeds, which add a nice nutty, earthy flavor to the spice mix. Za’atar is delicious when combined with olive oil and spread over soft freshly baked flat bread, but today we are using it in our chicken dinner.

**If romaine is is not you’re thing or you need something extra, adding sweet potato fries is delicious in this bowl. The other option is to tuck all the ingredients into a warm pita bread and make a sandwich. So lets make Zaatar chicken.

Za’atar Chicken Salad Bowl, Makes 3-4 Servings

Ingredients

FOR ZAATAR CHICKEN and CHICKPEAS

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cubed into one inch pieces
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry
• 4 medium cloves garlic minced or ½ teaspoon ground dried garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground all spice
• ½ teaspoon hot paprika, optional for little heat
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice or 1 teaspoon sumac
• 2 tablespoons Za’atar mix
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, Greek preferred
• Kosher salt, and cracked black pepper as needed
• FOR THE BOWL INGREDIENTS
• 1 head romaine shredded, organic preferred
• 2-3 Persian cucumbers, chopped
• 4-5 Campari tomatoes diced, about 2 cups
• 2-3 radishes, thinly sliced, optional
• 1 medium red onion, sliced and pickled in 2 tbsps white vinegar+ 4 tablespoons water + pinch of salt
• 4 ounces crumbled or cubed feta, optional, but highly recommended
• ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted
• ½ cup fresh herbs like parsley, mint, cilantro and dill, chopped ( you don’t need all)
• OPTIONAL SERVING SUGGESTIONS
• Greek yogurt, whipped
• Sweet potato oven baked fries
• lemon juice
• Harissa sauce

Garlic Tahini Sauce

• 1/2 cup tahini
• 4 medium sized garlic cloves
• juice of 1 lemon
• Sea salt as needed
• Iced water as needed

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375° F.
• In a bowl, combine the yogurt, ½ the olive oil,, lemon juice, garlic, ½ the Zaatar mix, both paprikas, ground all spice, oregano, and a large pinch each of salt and pepper. Add the cubed chicken and mix well. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
• Place the chicken on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 15 minutes, toss and bake another 5-7 minutes, or until cooked through. The timing will depend on the thickness of the chicken pieces. Alternatively you can roast the chicken pieces in an Air fryer at 400°F for 8-10 minutes or until the chicken pieces are fully cooked through.
• In a frying pan heat the remaining olive oil and add the drained chickpeas and pan toast them stirring regularly for 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining zaatar spice mix. Take out off the heat.
• While the chicken cooks prepare the bowl ingredients. Chop tomatoes cucumbers, romaine lettuce, radishes, herbs, feta. mix onions, salt and vinegar for pickled onions.
• Make the tahini. Add garlic to a small food processor and pulse a few times until chopped. Combine all the remaining ingredients with 2 tablespoons water in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more water as needed to thin the sauce to your desired consistency Season to taste as you go, taste varies person to person so use your judgment.
• To assemble, divide the romaine lettuce to 3-4 bowls. Place the zaatar chicken, toasted chickpeas, tomatoes, pickled onions, radish, cucumber, feta cheese, olives and lemon juice equally or as needed between the bowls. Drizzle with the tahini sauce and whipped greek yogurt, I also added some store bought harissa sauce for heat. Enjoy!