Za'atar Chicken with Lemon Courgette
Za'atar toasts on the surface of the chicken while courgettes underneath collapse into something halfway between roasted and braised.
Why it works
Za'atar is mostly sesame and dried thyme, and both scorch quickly, so the blend goes on under a film of olive oil that slows the heat and lets it toast rather than burn. Butterflying the breasts to an even thickness gets them cooked in thirteen minutes, exactly as long as thick courgette half-moons need to give up their water and brown. Fine bulgur steeps in boiling water in ten of those minutes and needs no draining.
Method
- Boil the kettle and heat the air fryer to 200°C (400°F). Run a knife horizontally through each breast and open it like a book so it lies at an even 2 cm.
- In a bowl, mix the oil, za'atar, garlic, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper into a loose paste. Toss the courgettes and tomatoes through half of it and spread them across the basket.
- Rub the rest over the chicken, both sides, and lay the pieces on top of the vegetables without overlapping.
- Air fry for 13 minutes. The chicken is done when it springs back under a finger and shows no pink at the thickest part — 74°C (165°F) on a probe. The courgette edges should be brown and shrunken and the tomatoes split.
- As the basket starts, put the bulgur, chickpeas and salt in a large bowl, pour over the boiling water, cover with a plate and leave 10 minutes, then fork it through.
- Slice the chicken thickly across the grain, pile it and the vegetables onto the bulgur and finish with yoghurt, parsley and a squeeze of lemon.
For the toddler
Set a piece of chicken and some courgette aside at step 2, before either meets the za'atar paste, and rub theirs with plain oil and a little lemon zest instead. Za'atar is mostly sesame, so crush any seeds fine or leave them off. Quarter the cherry tomatoes lengthways, cut the courgette into soft strips, slice the chicken finely, and crush the chickpeas through the bulgur.
How the toddler notes workChef’s notes
Thighs need 15 minutes; thick aubergine slices stand in for courgette on the same timer.
Ask for the breasts butterflied at the counter and you are down to 4 minutes of prep.
Warm pitta, a dish of olives, and pickled turnips or cucumbers for the sharpness.
Cold, chopped through the bulgur with the yoghurt as a lunchbox salad. Keeps 3 days chilled.