Za’atar + Lemon Chicken Tray Bake
I’ve been absolutely loving having Twisted Citrus mixed citrus boxes arriving on my doorstep every few weeks. The juiciest, most flavour-packed, fresh New Zealand citrus keeping my fruit bowl loaded has had me getting so much more creative in the kitchen. And when I tell you I’ve made this lemony za’atar chicken five weeks in a row, I’m not kidding!
Isn’t it the BEST when you make a new dinner that’s SO delicious, but it’s also ridiculously easy and takes hardly any time to throw together.
Those soft tangy lemon slices add the most beautiful hint of freshness, alongside the sweet Medjool dates and all those glorious cooking juices. Yum Yum YUM!
Serves 4–6
Chicken
6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp za’atar
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
Sea salt + freshly cracked black pepper
Tray bake
500g baby roasting potatoes, sliced into ½cm rounds
1 @twistedcitrus lemon, thinly sliced
8 Medjool dates, pitted + torn in half
1 onion, cut into 1cm wedges
¼ cup white wine
¾ cup chicken stock
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt + pepper
Salsa verde (optional)
1 packed cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
½ cup fresh mint leaves
1 tbsp capers
1 anchovy fillet
1 large garlic clove
Zest of ½ lemon
Juice of ½ lemon
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp salt, plus more to taste
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.
Chicken: In a large bowl, mix the Dijon, za’atar, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the chicken thighs and toss well until completely coated. Set aside while you prepare the tray.
Traybake: Add the sliced potatoes, lemon, dates and onion to a large roasting dish. Pour over the white wine and chicken stock, season generously with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Arrange the chicken thighs on top, skin-side up, leaving a little space between each one. Drizzle over the remaining 3 tbsp olive oil.
Roast for 1 hour. After 45 minutes, carefully tilt the roasting dish and spoon some of the cooking juices over the chicken and potatoes. Return to the oven for the final 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is golden and crisp.
While the chicken cooks, make the salsa verde. Add everything to a small food processor or NutriBullet and blitz until combined but still slightly textured. Taste and adjust with extra lemon, salt or olive oil if needed.
Serve the chicken and potatoes with sautéed greens of your choice and a generous dollop of salsa verde. And whatever you do, spoon those delicious cooking juices over the top, they’re full of all that chicken, lemony, za’atar goodness.
