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Za’atar Chicken with Roasted Vegetables and Tahini
This roasted chicken and veg number is delicious, fresh and jam-packed with flavour. It combines perfectly seasoned chicken, squishy, charred aubergine, and crisp tenderstem broccoli. The zingy tomato salad adds a lovely pop of freshness and the creamy tahini dressing brings it all together in the tastiest way. You can serve it as a wrap or a salad – the choice is yours.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 large aubergines
- extra-virgin olive oil
For the chicken:
- 600g chicken thigh fillets (boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
- 1 tbsp za’atar
- 1 tbsp pul biber (aka aleppo pepper, see notes for substitute)
- ½ tbsp garlic granules
For the broccoli:
- 400g tenderstem broccoli, trimmed
- 1 tsp za’atar
- 1 tsp pul biber (aka aleppo pepper)
- extra-virgin olive oil
For the dressing (see notes for storage):
- 80ml tahini
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1 lemon, juice
For the tomato salad:
- 2 large vine tomatoes, finely chopped
- ½ small red onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp sumac
- extra-virgin olive oil
To serve:
- 120g baby spinach
- 4 large wraps
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 220°C / fan 200°C.
- Slice the aubergines into 2 to 3cm-thick rounds. Arrange in a single layer on a large, greaseproof-paper lined baking tray. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, then roast for 40 to 45 minutes, or until deeply golden brown.
- Place the chicken thigh fillets in a large bowl. Add the za’atar, pul biber and garlic granules, season with salt and pepper and toss well to coat. Arrange in a single layer on a medium baking tray and roast for 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Place the tenderstem broccoli on a large baking tray. Add the za’atar and pul biber, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes, or until tender and lightly beginning to char.
- To recap, you can stagger the roasting process as follows: place the aubergines in the oven and set a 45 minute timer. When there’s 25 minutes, pop the chicken into the oven. When there’s 10 minutes left on the timer, pop the tenderstem broccoli into the oven.
- Meanwhile, make the tomato salad: place the ingredients in a bowl, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Then, make the tahini dressing: place the ingredients in a bowl, season generously with salt and pepper and mix well to combine. If the dressing is too thick for your liking, mix in more cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Let the chicken cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then slice.
- To serve as a wrap, place a handful of spinach on each of the wraps. Top with some aubergine slices, tenderstem broccoli, sliced chicken and tomato salad. Drizzle some dressing over the top and wrap it up tight.
- To serve as a salad, get the spinach onto a large platter, top with the aubergine slices, tenderstem broccoli, sliced chicken and tomato salad and finish with the dressing. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you don’t have pul biber, you can substitute it for half the amount of chilli flakes plus a pinch of smoked paprika.
- The tahini dressing will keep in a sealed jar in the fridge for 1 week. It may thicken as it sits. If it does, you can thin it out with a little bit of cold water as needed.
This recipe is UNBELIEVABLE!!! I grew up with a lot of Middle-Eastern food at a good friend/neighbor’s, this is the first time I’ve been able to make a recipe from scratch outside of the ones I’ve copiously copied from her kitchen – the flavors in this are awesome!! I love how your passion for the act of cooking shines in this recipe, it was so easy to follow the flow of staggering the eggplant/aubergine, chicken and broccoli without rushing and having lots of time to clean as I go. I love the mix of spicy/sweet/umami flavors mixed with a range of textures from the the roasted veggies to the juicy tomato, and the chicken is absolutely outstanding with the tahini dressing and tomato salad. Thanks so much for sharing your passion and wisdom with us, I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. Sending love from Arizona, USA. <3
Wow, thank you so much Kaitlyn! I’m truly touched by your kind words. Thank you for leaving such a detailed, positive review. I’m so, so glad you enjoyed it. Sending lots of love back!
Absolutely delicious! Fresh and cozy at the same time! Served as a salad and it was just perfect. This will go in my normal rotation for sure. I didn’t have sumac (actually hadn’t heard of it) so I used lemon zest.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and that it’ll become a part of your weekly rotation 🙂