Home Spice Za’atar Chicken Thighs with Labneh and Summer Vegetables

Servings about 4

Ingredients

1 travel packet of Home Spice Za’ater or (10 grams)

1 qt of Yogurt, greek or plain with preferred fat content, divided

1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 T of pomegranate molasses (can sub ½ T lemon juice and ½ T honey, but I recommend getting this as a pantry staple).

Parsley, divided (1 T finely chopped parsley stems for marinade, 1 T chopped leaves for garnish)

1 bunch of radishes

1 cup of fresh peas

1 lemon and its zest

salt as needed

¼ cup olive oil, plus more as needed

2 T butter

Directions

To make labneh (strained yogurt), place a thin towel or cheese cloth over a strainer, and place bowl over a bowl. Empty quart of your preferred yogurt onto the cheesecloth covered strainer. Scoop ½ cup of yogurt out and set aside. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt over remaining yogurt and cover. Let strain overnight, do not refrigerate (about 24 hours) once complete, pour out whey, and mix in ¼ cup olive oil into labneh. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Place that ½ cup of yogurt that you sat aside earlier into a medium bowl. Add zest of one lemon, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley stems. Mix to combine, cover the chicken in marinade, and marinate overnight.

Cook fresh peas in water until tender, strain and set aside. Rinse and quarter radishes, char them in 1 tablespoon of butter in a cast iron until blistered, set aside. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter to cast iron pan and turn to medium/high heat. Add chicken and sear until blackened. Adjust heat accordingly the pomegranate molasses does have sugar in it that can burn if not careful. Flip and cook about 5 min on each side. Once chicken is cooked, take a spoonful of labneh, smear on bottom of plate or bowl, create a bed of peas and charred radishes, top with chicken, a squeeze of lemon and freshly chopped parsley leaves.

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