Zatar Crusted Chicken

I eat everything.  There's very little I don't like, and even less I won't try.  As it turns out, this is both good and bad.  It's good because I'm portable, you can take me anywhere, and I'll happily eat whatever is available.  It's bad because, well, I eat everything, so periodically my clothes don't fit and I'm forced to stop eating quite so much of the everything that I seem to like to eat.

But I understand that I am very much in the minority in this regard.  Everyone I know either eschews entire categories of cuisine (sushi, Korean food, barbecue) or else has some type of dietary restriction (gluten free, kosher, vegetarian).  Which is why I'm particularly enamored of this easy chicken dish, since it's really tasty, and also happens to be kosher.

This is revelatory, because when I was a kid, "kosher" and "tasty" were pretty much mutually exclusive.  Kosher food was rubbery chicken, salty meat, overcooked vegetables and -- at the occasional dairy meal -- cheese that bore a striking resemblance to plastic. 

That was a long time ago (longer than I care to admit) and now there is plenty of food that is both delicious and kosher.  I'm glad to add to that list this chicken, coated in zatar and served topped with a lemony, cumin-spiked salad.

First, a word about zatar.  I have to preface this by saying that no one gets more annoyed than I do when some jackass starts talking about how everyone absolutely must run to the store and buy some really exotic fruit or vegetable.  That kind of crazy talk has been known to commence some sort of deranged urban hunting trip where hoards of yuppies visit ever more expensive grocery stores in the hopes of finding the coveted ingredient.  Usually, whatever it is can’t be found in the continental United States, on account of the harvest just ended and the bumper crop won’t appear for another three months.  Even if it can be found, no one has the slightest idea how to tell if the thing is even ripe, or which parts of it are edible.

But when it comes to spices, my own feeling is, the weirder, the better.  First of all, spices aren’t hard to find, since they can be readily ordered on-line (at www.penzeys.com, among other places).  There’s no issue about ripeness, or edibility.  Spices last a few months, so there’s no pressure to use them immediately.  They generally aren’t too expensive (I’m looking at you, saffron), and they don’t take up much space.   And certain spices can be the thing that makes a pretty good dish truly great.  So yeah, I’ll encourage some weird spice use here and there.

Like I’m about to do for zatar (and sumac, which you'll be able to find wherever you find zatar).  It’s a Middle Eastern spice blend containing sesame seeds, sumac, thyme, and crack, I think, because it is so addictive.  It’s often used to top pita bread, but it’s also great here.  This is basically just a variation on my favorite meal, generically titled: Crunchy, Flavorful Chicken Topped with Salad.  I could eat some version of that meal every night…

ZATAR CRUSTED CHICKEN

1 ½ pounds chicken, butterflied (in other words: cut halfway through the thickness of the breast)

2 ½ Tbsp tahini (found in most supermarkets)

1 large clove of garlic, minced

Juice of 1 lemon

salt

Crust

3 Tbsp zatar

3 Tbsp sesame seeds

1 Tbsp flour

2 tsp sumac

1 tsp garlic powder

generous pinch of salt

2-3 Tbsp olive oil, for the pan

Salad

1 bunch arugula, roughly torn up

2 Persian cucumbers, chopped

½ small red onion, chopped

Vinaigrette

1/3 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice

½ tsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Combine the zatar and other dry ingredients on a plate.  Combine the tahini, garlic and the juice of the lemon in a bowl.  If it seems too pasty, add a splash of warm water.

Dunk each chicken breast into the tahini mixture until it is coated.  Scrape off any extra with the back of a knife.  Then coat with the zatar/sesame seed mixture, and gently shake off any excess.

When a large pan is hot, add the olive oil, and sauté the chicken breasts until they are browned on both sides.  Turn them over carefully, so the crust doesn’t get disturbed. 

Meanwhile, combine the arugula, cucumbers and onions in a bowl.  Whisk together the olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and cumin, and dress the salad.

Serve the hot chicken with the arugula salad on top. 

Serves two with leftovers.