Za’atar: Spicing Up the Standard Sheet Pan Dinner

 

Sweetie Pie

Disclaimer: No pet chickens were harmed in the preparation of this meal. I just wanted to show off one of my girls. 

 

In the 1970s, we had Hamburger Helper, the 80s brought crockpot/slow cookers, the oughts brought the Instant Pot, and air fryers became popular in the last decade—all designed to make fixing dinner a little bit easier. More recently, sheet pan bakes have become a popular way to fix dinner, particularly for those with busy lives.

 

They make for easy prep, hands-off cooking, and the clean-up just takes a minute. Traditionally, recipes for sheet pan bakes are comprised of a protein, vegetable and starch. Some are marinated, others slathered in a sauce, and many make use of an herb mixture. 

 

Today’s post covers the latter preparation. It’s prepared with the Middle Eastern spice mixture called za’atar. Za’atar contains herbs and spices that vary based on the region and what is available (much like Indian or Thai curries). Among the ingredients can be: oregano, thyme, marjoram, cumin, coriander, sesame seeds, sumac, and chili flakes. Salt may also be added. Za’atar can be found in most grocery stores these days, as well as Cost Plus World Market. If you’re feeling ambitious, there are recipes on the internet that will also allow you to make your own.

 

The za’atar sheet pan bake I’ve been making, to rave reviews, utilizes chicken thighs, broccoli and potatoes. This modified recipe originally appeared in the November 2021 issues of Eating Well and it’s well worth repeating here. It is the epitome of what this blog stands for – leaving the standard dinner fare behind and incorporating foreign flavors and fresh ingredients to provide tasty meals for those you love. And it also goes to show that good food doesn’t have to take hours, multiple pans, and a grocery store’s worth of ingredients. 

 

Even better, it’s served with a tasty yogurt sauce that really amps up the flavor.

 

Roast Za-atar Chicken with Broccoli and Potatoes

1 ¾ pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thights

1 medium broccoli crown, cut into ½-inch planks

2 cups baby potatoes, halved*

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons za’atar

¾ teaspoon ground pepper

½ teaspoon salt

 

Sauce

1 cup plain yogurt

1 tablespoon minced fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)

1 tablespoon minced onion

½ teaspoon minced or grated garlic

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

 

Mix up the ingredients for the sauce and place in the refrigerator. 

 

Turn on oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, toss chicken, broccoli and potatoes with oil and spices. Arrange the chicken, skin side up, in the center of a large foil-lined baking pan (makes for easy clean up). Place broccoli and potatoes in a single layer around the chicken. Roast for 25 minutes or until thigh registers 165 degrees. 

 

Turn the broiler on high and broil until the chicken skin is brown and crispy. Serve with yogurt sauce. 

 

*I’ve also used red or Yukon potatoes, cut into 8-10 chunks

 

Yield: 4 servings

 

 

Time for Gringa Taquitos and a Specialty Cocktail

 

The other day, my son went to a friend’s house to do some electrical work. While he was there, his friend’s mother-in-law made taquitos (aka flautas) from scratch for lunch. His retelling this had a very subtle subtext: Why don’t you make homemade taquitos?

 

It’s true, I don’t make taquitos. I do make homemade tamales, ceviche, carnitas, and other assorted Mexican dishes, despite the fact that I am wholly European in origin (unlike aforementioned mother-in-law). I don’t make taquitos because I don’t do any fried foods. No fried chicken, no fish and chips, no onion rings. My only concession is beignets, which are soooo worth the trouble to make and the oil to fry them in. 

 

Then the other day I ran across a recipe for a baked taquito in a magazine. I remembered my daughter making baked chimichangas back in the day and thought this might be a good alternative. And since I just made a dozen pints of homemade salsa, this would be a good accompaniment.

 

Turns out, making taquitos is a pretty simple thing to do. They make for a quick snack or easy dinner and can be filled with all manner of things. The original base recipe calls for avocado, pinto beans, shredded rotisserie chicken (from the store) and cheese. But you can substitute black beans, fresh (canned or frozen) corn, refried beans, leftover steak or pork, or sautéed veg (maybe kale and zucchini, which are in season now). They can easily be made vegan or vegetarian, or spiced up with some fiery jalapenos or serrano peppers. You are limited only by your imagination and what is in your fridge and pantry. 

 

By baking the taquitos, you still get the crunch of a fried taquito, but without the added oil and calories. So, it’s a healthy version that both kids and adults will love. And love them we did….

 

But in all fairness, my son wasn’t around when I made these, so I invited the neighbors. Hence that really lovely looking cocktail at the top of the post. It was bribery to get them over to test my recipe. They all agreed that the taquitos and the cocktail were superb. 

 

As for the cocktail, I made some fresh watermelon juice and squeezed some limes, which I added to vodka. It needed a bit more something, so I decided to add some of the lemon balm syrup I make. Perfecto! Slightly sweet and tart at the same time, and very refreshing on what was a very hot day.  

 

Side Note: Lemon balm is part of the mint family, growing pretty prolifically without much care. Pour boiling water over and steep for a calming tea that can help anxiety and insomnia. The tea is also good for colds and flu. During the summer, I chill the tea and drink it iced with a bit of the syrup, which is just 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 1 lemon cut into fourths and a big bunch of lemon balm (leaves and stems). Bring to a boil and cook until sugar is melted, then let it steep for 10-15 minutes and strain. Syrup can be used in hot or cold tea or any cocktail which could benefit from a sweet and subtle lemon flavor. 

 

My modified taquito recipe can be found after the jump.

Week 21: Not Your Mother’s Chicken and Rice

I remember my mother making chicken and rice dishes, mostly casseroles that were heavy on some sort of canned creamed soup. Edible but not terribly flavorful, they were a staple in most households in the 1960s and 1970s. Given my subsequent aversion to casseroles and anything containing a creamed soup, I have avoided such dishes for 30+ years…until now.

In the most recent Sunset magazine, I found a recipe for Chicken Steamed Over Ginger-Garlic Rice. Full of flavor, utilizing only one pot and taking only 30 minutes, the family has determined the recipe a keeper and I can now proudly cook chicken and rice casserole.

Rather boring in color, due to the dual colors of white (rice, chicken) and green (sauce), it is anything but bland. The recipe contains bold flavors—ginger, garlic, cilantro, sesame oil and jalapeno—that give the moist steamed chicken a great kick, although not so spicy that children won’t eat it.

The recipe is low in salt, easy to prepare and a quick and hearty weeknight meal. While the recipe says it yields four servings that would be a huge amount of rice per person. I used 2 pounds of chicken (rather than the 1 1/2 it called for) and it served 5 adults, with enough leftover for one lunch. I have adjusted a few things in the recipe to satisfy our palate, but if you want the original recipe, you can find it here.

Butcher Son and Mr. B added some sriracha to up the heat quotient, our guest tried it with a bit of soy, but Brilliant Daughter and I found it perfect just as it is. Now it’s your turn to debunk the myth that chicken and rice casseroles have to include creamed soups!

Recipe on the next page...

Week 18: Tri-Tip with Chimichurri

This week for Sunday dinner I rummaged through all the recipes I had torn out of magazines to find something a bit different. The family doesn’t mind being guinea pigs and this week they were more than happy after trying this unusually cooked but flavorful offering.

The recipe, originally published in the June 2013 issue of Sunset magazine, called for either bison or beef tri-tip cooked on a barbeque with a cast-iron pan. While bison is a nice lean meat, it isn’t widely available (although Butcher Son could obtain some if I had so desired), so I tested it with the more standard beef.

The method used to cook the meat is Argentine in origin and is called a la plancha—requiring a cast iron grill pan, skillet or griddle and cooked in a barbeque.  According to the recipe, this method creates an even quick sear that leaves a crusty exterior while staying moist and juicy on the inside.

I found this to be an easy to prepare dish, suitable for weeknight dinners but fancy enough to serve to guests. What puts the dish over the top is the huge amount of flavor garnered from the rosemary-parsley chimichurri sauce. In fact I wanted to ladle to sauce onto the roasted fingerling potatoes as well. Or maybe just drink it with a straw, it was that good, and the family wholeheartedly agreed. A winner recipe that is sure to make its way into our rotation this summer. And there is no reason that I shouldn’t keep a jar of the chimichurri sauce in my refrigerator, as it will be great on most any kind of meat, as well as roasted potatoes and maybe even some select vegetables.

While the recipe called for an overnight marinade, it isn’t strictly necessary. If you remember to do it the night before great; if you have time in the morning before work, that works, too. I only had 4 hours of marinating, but in actuality an hour or two will do the trick, primarily because the sauce is so excellent that any flavor is overwhelmed by it. And if you have no time to marinate….no problem. 

Recipe on next page

Week 14: Baked Gnocchi with Squash and Kale

What drew me to this recipe in the San Francisco Chronicle was the list of ingredients in the title. I love gnocchi, butternut squash and kale and imagined they would be a killer combo. Tasty and healthy at the same time. It was a fairly easy recipe that took little preparation, as I was able to use pre-made gnocchi, pre-cut squash and pre-cut kale.

Unfortunately I was wrong on several counts and actually chock this up as a bit of a failure. It is healthy and it was easy, but it wasn’t terribly tasty. The gnocchi gets quite gummy and sticks together, the squash doesn’t get that nice brown crisp that adds to its flavor when roasted, and the pre-cut kale had some thick ribs that made for a more than few nasty mouthfuls. And even with the addition of salt and parmesan cheese, it lacked any oomph or real flavor. It was a bit soggy and the liquid was not thickened at all. Overall, I cannot recommend this dish, but in fairness to my goal at the beginning of the year, I wanted to post my failures as well as my successes, so if you are brave, you can try and recreate this and judge for yourself, or modify it in a way that would make it tastier (more cheese? herbs? pancetta or bacon? Sausage?)

Recipe after the jump

 

Week 12: Mini Lamb Meatballs with Pilaf

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I know how hard it is to come up with a quick meal that can be fixed in 30 minutes or less. Having had 3 children with various school, work, and activity schedules on top of my own work schedule made it difficult for us all to sit down together every night, but I made it work utilizing two methods. One, I shopped every Sunday morning then settled into the kitchen for 2-3 hours cooking meals for the week. Soups, stews, roasted chicken, meatloaf, whatever I could make that could be cooked or reheated quickly once we were all at home. Two, finding recipes that were easy to make and quick to cook for weekday meals.

One of those quick recipes is a lamb pilaf. I wrote a post about it back in 2006, which caused me to be somewhat nostalgic when I read it. The gist of the post was that I felt it necessary that my children be able to cook once they lived on their own. Brilliant Daughter is an excellent cook, trying new recipes, modifying old ones, devising new ones, while Electrician Son relies primarily on a few standards and lots of grilling. At the time of the post, Butcher Son, my youngest, was just embarking on his career as a butcher and was only adept at breakfast foods. The post was an attempt to teach him how to cook something new and easy, so he wouldn’t have to rely on eggs and toast.

Eight years later, he has far surpassed my expectations. In fact, he has gotten together with friends every Monday night for the past two or three years to prepare feasts to share. One person decides the menu and they all pitch in on the cooking end of things. And we are not talking burgers and fries here; they make meals centered around Steak Diane, horseradish-crusted beef tenderloin, and stuffed chicken breasts, among other things. Ahhh, but I digress.

That original lamb pilaf recipe, which takes about 30 minutes start to finish, pays homage to my husband’s family, half of which are Lebanese. Lamb and rice were a part of his childhood and became part of our repertoire. But cooking lamb takes hours, and even shish kebab requires marinating to impart flavors into the meat. So the lamb pilaf recipe was a way to get the flavor we loved without the long preparation or cooking time. And while we still cook the pilaf at least once a month, I thought it needed an update, a new twist. So I took the basic ingredients and changed them up a bit. What I came up with is mini lamb meatballs served on top of the pilaf with a lemon-mint yogurt sauce. The preparation time is still around the half-hour mark, easy enough for anyone to do (in fact, you can get the kids involved in rolling the meatballs), and it’s just as tasty as the original version.

Oh, and for the record, I am very proud of my children, not just for their culinary prowess but also for the very special people they have become. I am one lucky mama!

Recipe after the jump....

Week 11: Easy Grilled Thai Chicken

My family loves Thai food and while you might not think that it is appropriate for children, let me tell you that my own offspring have been enjoying Thai food for the last 19 years. That’s when I finished work on my first Travelers’ Tales book, an anthology on Thailand. Working amongst well-traveled writers at that time was intimidating, as I had not seen much of the world, but because I have always had a curiosity about cooking, I began a ritual whereby I learned to cook the cuisine of the country we were working on. As soon as a book was sent off to the printer, we would celebrate with a meal appropriate to that destination.

This was back in 1993 when the internet was still in its infancy for most people, and I actually did research for articles on an old-fashioned microfiche at the library! But those same libraries provided me with cookbooks on international cuisine that allowed me to produce some truly memorable meals. Ten years later, in 2003, when we prepared Travelers’ Tales Thailand for an update, I actually jetted off to Southeast Asia and went to two cooking schools: a three-day affair at the famed Hotel Oriental Cooking School in Bangkok and a weekend course at Mom Tri’s Boathouse in Phuket. It is my most memorable travel experience by far, and Thai food has become one of my favorites, with bold flavors, fresh ingredients and a simplicity that normally requires nothing more than a fork to enjoy.

This recipe was clipped back in 2009 from Issue 86 of Fine Cooking. It is quite simple to prepare, quick to cook, and has an amazing amount of flavor. I should note that the recipe calls for you to marinate the chicken for 2-24 hours, but I only had an hour to throw this together and it was absolutely delicious. I can only image how much more flavorful the chicken would have been given longer to marinade in these wonderful Thai flavors. So if you can remember, just throw it together the night before in a Ziploc bag and you’ll only need 15-20 minutes to cook them up when you are ready for dinner.

While the recipe serves 12 people (great for a party!), it can easily be cut in half for a family dinner. I did make one addition to the recipe—fish sauce— a quintessential Thai ingredient that I felt belonged in the marinade. Don’t be put off by the exotic ingredients, I had no trouble finding the fish sauce and lemongrass at my local Safeway and the I keep dried Thai bird chilis in my pantry (although jalapenos or serranos will also add the requisite heat).  And while it might not quite be time to break out the grill in many parts of the country, feel free to cook this on the stove with a grill pan. The smokiness won’t be present, but the multilayered flavors of the marinade will still shine through.

And apologies for the lack of pictures, we just couldn’t wait to chow down!

Grilled Thai Chicken

1-1/4 cups chopped fresh cilantro (leaves and tender stems)

1 can coconut milk

1/4 cup finely chopped lemongrass (from about 2 stalks)*

12 fresh basil leaves

3 Thai bird chiles, 2 jalapeños, or 2 medium serranos, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

2 teaspoons packed brown sugar

4 tablespoons fish sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon ground coriander

12 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, trimmed

Fresh chopped cilantro for serving

2 limes, cut into wedges for serving

Combine the cilantro with the coconut milk, lemongrass, basil, chiles, garlic, salt, brown sugar, fish sauce, pepper, and coriander in a food processor or blender and purée until smooth. Arrange the chicken breasts in a nonreactive baking dish or other vessel large enough to accommodate them in a snug single layer or place them in a large Ziploc bag. Pour the marinade over the breasts and turn to coat them well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Heat a gas grill to medium high or prepare a medium-hot charcoal fire. Grill the chicken (covered on a gas grill) until it has good grill marks on the first side, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the chicken (cover a gas grill) and continue to cook until firm to the touch and completely cooked through (check by making a slice into one of the thicker breasts), 5 to 6 more minutes. Transfer to a platter and let rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the fresh cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

*Before chopping the lemongrass, be sure to cut off the spiky green top and enough of the bottom to eliminate the woody core. Peel off a few of the outer layers until you’re left with just the tender heart of the stalk.

Yield: 12 servings

Week 5: Spicy Rainbow Chard with Bacon and Polenta

This week’s recipe comes from the December 2012 issue of Sunset magazine. I have been a loyal reader of Sunset since I was in my teens. I know that might sound strange, but it is the truth. My mother was not a very good cook and had a small repertoire that primarily consisted of spaghetti, meatloaf, pork chops, baked chicken, and casseroles. So I took over much of the cooking when I was in high school. Given that we had only 3 ancient cookbooks, my only source of current recipes was the monthly issue of Sunset that my aunt would drop off. It was kind of like a family subscription: my aunt paid for it, then I read it, then my mom, and then we would pass it off to my nana. Invariably she would pass that off to a friend as well. I’ve had my own subscription for many years, and I always find at least one recipe in each issue that I want to make.

This recipe caught my eye because I grow chard and love bacon. But then, I would eat bacon with just about anything. That being said, I am a bacon snob and generally only eat my own cured and smoked bacon. Butcher Son and I began doing this in 2011 when we acquired a smoker that belonged to my godfather. It is not a difficult process and the final product has a real smoke flavor that resonates throughout the whole slab of bacon…not that fake smoke flavor that leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I also love having the ability to cut the bacon to my own specifications, depending upon the recipe: lardons, thin cut, thick cut, and even end cuts which I use to flavor soups.

Somehow, I find myself in the odd predicament of being completely out of my homemade bacon; a rare occurrence that has caused me no lack of angst. This catastrophe led me to purchase thick-cut bacon to prepare this recipe. I thought Smithfield seemed like a good choice. They have been around for 70 years and seem to know their pork products.  However, opening the package, I found the bacon to be anything but thick cut. It stretched out when I tried to separate the pieces, each piece flopped in my hand, and when cooking it shriveled into weird shapes and did not cook evenly. A travesty from a company that espouses handcrafted excellence. But enough of my bacon rant and on to the recipe…

As usual, I did not follow the recipe to the letter, altering it based on my own preferences and ingredients. The original recipe called just for chard, but I also had a good crop of kale that needed to be harvested, so I mixed the two. (You can use two bunches of chard if you prefer.) The recipe also called for discarding the bacon fat and cooking the greens in olive oil. I really felt that the bacon fat would enhance the flavor of the dish, albeit make it less healthy. But I was willing to make the tradeoff.

Timewise, this dish took about 30 minutes. I set the polenta up to cook, while I prepared the greens and started the bacon. It’s a simple two-pan dish, does not require any particular skill, and was a keeper in the eyes of Mr. B. The small amount of chile pepper adds a good kick to the chard, but it will be too much for younger children. In fact, my kids would not have been fans until their late teens.

One last note: The recipe says it serves 4, but in my estimation, it would serve 4 as a side dish. Mr. B and I each had a serving and there was maybe a third portion left, and we are not gluttons. So I suggest you either serve a nice roasted chicken or grilled steak alongside, or increase the ingredients by half.

Spicy Rainbow Chard with Bacon and Polenta

1 cup polenta

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 slices thick-cut bacon

2 large shallots, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large bunch rainbow chard

1 large bunch kale

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the polenta with salt as the package directs. Meanwhile, cut the ribs out of the chard and kale and slice into 1/4-inch pieces. Roughly chop the leaves. Chop up the garlic and shallot.

In a hot pan, fry your bacon until just crispy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.  Crumble once cool.

Reduce the heat of the pan and add your shallots, garlic, and chard ribs until softened. This will take 4-5 minutes. Stir in your chard and kale leaves, chile flakes and water. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until wilted.

Stir butter and cheese into the polenta and spoon into bowls. Toss the chard with the balsamic vinegar and spoon over polenta. Sprinkle bacon crumbles on top and hit it with a final shot of Parmesan cheese.

Yield: 4 small or side servings

Quick & Easy: Asian Lettuce Cups

There are some days when I just don’t have time to spend hours in the kitchen cooking the family dinner, and for this reason I keep quick and easy recipes on hand that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less and will please all the palates at the table. This recipe, modified from Sunset magazine, is part of that repertoire.

Originally prepared for me by my good friend Jen Leo, it requires only 5-10 minutes of prep time and is ready to serve in about 25 minutes. I often double the recipe to use for lunches, which definitely impresses the co-workers.

While the recipe calls for ground chicken, you can also use ground bison or lean ground pork. Bison is becoming more available across the U.S. and the majority of American bison is grass-fed and privately—not mass—produced. Overall, bison is leaner than ground beef and contains more iron, as well as less calories and cholesterol.

Asian Lettuce Cups

1 pound lean ground chicken

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

2 1/2 tablespoons Asian black bean sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (plus extra for serving)

1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, rinsed, drained, and coarsely chopped

1 bunch green onions, sliced (both white and green)

1 cup chopped roasted unsalted peanuts

1 cup chopped cilantro

1 large head butter lettuce, separated into leaves

Sriracha chili sauce

Heat oil in large fry pan over medium heat. Add meat, ginger and garlic, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Fry until meat is just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, break apart a head of butter lettuce, rinsing off the individual leaves, and drying on paper towels. Dab off excess water with paper towel and place leaves on a plate.

When meat is cooked, add black bean sauce and hoisin and stir just until combined. Stir in water chestnuts and onions and cook for one minute to heat through. Take off the heat, and mix in the cilantro.

Spoon mixture into a serving bowl. Serve with chopped peanuts, hoisin, and sriracha on the side.

To assemble, take one lettuce leave and smear with hoisin or Sriracha, top with meat and peanuts, fold in half and enjoy!

Serves 4