Here is another great recipe for the hot summer days! A zesty, tangy and super tender chicken, that you can cook on the BBQ or air fryer!
We just starter experimenting with an air fryer, yes, a little behind the trend… But quickly realized how great it is to use when it’s hot outside! The air fryer doesn’t generate external heat, cook and crisp your food.
For this recipe, we use chicken thights with skin on, and we cooked them, after marinating them overnight in the yougurt sauce, skin up, in the air fryer. The skin turned out so crispy while the chicken meat remained super tender!
The acidity of the yogurt and lemon help breaking down the meat fibers, resulting in a super moist chicken after cooking. The Za’atar spice mix gives it that Mediterranean flavor that we can get enough off in the summer!
Serve with a yogurt dipping sauce, or make a pita with the chicken cooked and shredded, the yogurt sauce, fresh cilantro and some fresh veggies like cucumbers, tomatoes and red onions! Yum!
We also love using Za’atar also on potatoes, lamb, on dips like hummus, on bread and flatbread before cooking them, or just mix the spice with olive oil and dunk your fresh bread in it!
Start by chopping your garlic and about 2/3 of your cilantro bunch. In a medium mixing bowl, add about 3/4 of the chopped garlic and cilantro, keep the rest for later.
Add to the mixing bowl: 1/3 cup of yogurt, 2/3 of the lemon zest, 1/2 of the lemon juice, 2 Tbsp of olive oil, 1.5 Tbsp Za'atar, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp sea salt and some cracked black pepper. Stir to combine. In a ziplock bag, place this marinade and the chicken pieces. Massage the bag to cover every chicken pieces with marinade. Let rest for 2 hours or more (overnight is best) in the fridge.
Cook the chicken either:On the grill: Turn the grill on to the max. Coat the grill with olive oil of cooking spray. Sear and flip both side until fully cooked.In air fryer: At 350 F for 20 minutes or until fully cooked (varies depending on the cut). Skin side up if you to have skin on your chicken.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the yogurt dip: mix the remaining minced garlic, 2/3 cup of yogurt, 1/3 lemon zest, a squeeze of lemon juice, 1 Tbsp of olive oil, 1 Tbsp Za'atar, salt and pepper to taste. Mix and keep in the fridge until serving.
When the chicken is cooked, serve with the yogurt dip, fresh cilantro leaves remaining, lemon quarters, and eat with a green salad. Or you can make wraps with pita bread and fresh cut veggies (cucumber, tomatoes, red onions…)
