Za’atar chicken with chickpeas and garlic yoghurt

A quick and easy chicken dinner using the Middle Eastern spice blend za’atar and a sprinkling of sesame seeds on chicken thighs.

Za’atar chicken with chickpeas and garlic yoghurt. Credit: Jack Coathupe / Nigel Slater's Middle East

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp za’atar
• 90 ml olive oil
• 4 chicken thighs
• 1½ tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 400 g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 250 ml (9 fl oz) thick plain yoghurt
• 20 small mint leaves

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan-forced / Gas 7.
2. Mix the za’atar with the oil in a small bowl.
3. Put the chicken in a deep roasting tray, brush with the za’atar glaze and scatter over the sesame seeds. Add the chickpeas and garlic and bake for 30-40 minutes.
4. Remove the tray from the oven, take the garlic out and set aside. Brush the chicken with the za’atar oil that has gathered at the bottom of the tray.
5. Return the chicken to the oven for a further 15-20 minutes.
6. Pound the roasted garlic into a paste using a mortar and pestle. Scrape the garlic paste into a bowl, then mix in the yoghurt.
7. Serve the chicken on bed of chickpeas, with the garlic yoghurt drizzled over and the mint leaves scattered on top.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.