TRAY BAKED ZA'ATAR CHICKEN
This "one-pot" recipe is the perfect solution for a quick and easy lunch and is grand enough to make during a gathering. All you need to do is place all the ingredients into one dish to cook, and you end up with the most deliciously fragrant meal packed full of flavor!
INGREDIENTS
500g full chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on
4 potatoes, peeled and sliced into rounds or cut into large cubes
1 onion, peeled and sliced into rounds
1 tablespoon za’atar (thyme seeds)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION
1. Peel, wash and dry the potatoes before you slice or dice them.
2. I like to deep-fry them or microwave them for 2-3 minutes, so they become a little tender and don’t take as long to soften up on the inside.
3. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper on both sides, and place them in a baking dish.
4. Add the potatoes and onions, placing them around the dish evenly.
5. Scatter the za’atar over everything, then add the olive oil and lemon juice.
6. Bring water to a boil in a kettle, and slowly add the water to the baking dish until it is half the way up.
7. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and cook over the stove on medium-high heat for about 30 minutes.
8. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200ºC.
9. Then uncover the dish and place it in the oven for an additional 20 minutes until the chicken turns golden brown and crispy.
10. You can top with extra za’atar and garnish with lemon slices.
11. Serve with a side of rice or bread.
Notes:
You can use any part of the chicken that you prefer for this dish, and you can also choose to have it boneless and without skin. Personally, I prefer bone-in and skin on because it gives so much more flavor to the dish.
You can choose to add lemon slices to the dish while it’s cooking/baking instead of the lemon juice.
You can add rosemary, oregano or thyme instead of za’atar, but I do love the tanginess of za’atar.
