Food Lust People Love: fattoush

Enjoy spicy za'atar chicken with fattoush, a refreshing salad made with ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, green onions and toasted pita bread.

When I get a new cookbook, I sit and read it cover to cover, even in bed at night, delaying lights out to finish just one last story or one last recipe. I bookmark dishes to try and occupy the next weeks skipping happily through the markets, finding new ingredients, chopping and stirring and baking and cooking. I’m in my element.

One of my favorite authors in my cookbook collection is Nigella Lawson. She has a bright and easy way of writing and cooking that I adore. When I bought her Forever Summer, one of the first meals I made was this tasty za’atar chicken with fattoush. When I read that our host for #SundaySupper this week, Amy from KimChiMom, had chosen spices as our theme, I knew immediately that I had to make this! The lovely Arabic mix of thyme, sesame seeds and ground sumac of the za’atar coats the chicken and gives it wonderful aromatic flavors as it roasts. The fattoush, a tomato and cucumber salad with toasted pita bread, compliments it perfectly.

Ingredients
For the chicken:
Olive oil
1 large chicken (approx. 4 1/2-5 1/2 lbs or 2-2.5kg), cut into 8 pieces
4-6 tablespoons za’atar – can be purchased online at Penzey’s Spices or any Middle Eastern market
Maldon sea salt

For the fattoush:
1/2 English cucumber
4 Roma tomatoes
1 bunch spring onions
1 small bunch fresh mint, leaves picked
1 clove garlic, minced
Good handful black olives
5 1/4 oz or 150g crumbled feta cheese
Sprinkle of za’atar
Juice 1/2 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
2 pita breads

Method
Pour a good couple of glugs of olive oil into the roasting pan and put the chicken pieces skin side up in the oil. Turn the chicken pieces over and sprinkle the za’atar liberally over them.

Sprinkle with sea salt. Turn them skin side up and sprinkle liberally again with za’atar and a little salt.

Leave to marinate for an hour or so, or overnight, covered, in the refrigerator if you have the time.

When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C. (If the chicken has been chilled, bring it to room temperature.)

Roast the chicken for about 45-60 minutes, or until it is golden and cooked through.

Meanwhile, chop your tomatoes and cucumbers and pile them into a big salad bowl. Mince the garlic and chop the spring onions and mint and add them in.

Halve the olives and add them into the salad with the crumbled feta. Sprinkle lightly with za’atar.

When the chicken is cooked, remove the roasting pan from the oven and set aside, covered with foil.

Cut the pita breads open lengthways so that you have four very thin halves then toast them in the oven until golden and crunchy. Take them out and let them cool.

Squeeze the lemon over the salad and give it a generous drizzle of olive oil. Toss lightly.

Break the toasted pita breads into pieces and add to the salad. Toss again lightly.

Serve alongside some tasty za’atar chicken.  

Enjoy!

If you like things spicy, hot or not, have a look at all the lovely Sunday Supper spice-filled recipes my fellow bloggers have for you this week.

Snappy Starters & Snacks