Za’atar Chicken Tacos

Za’atar dusted chicken breasts, a Lebanese chopped salad and a cucumber dill greek yogurt spread make up this week’s Taco Tuesday recipe. Za’atar Chicken Tacos for the win.

I blame my friend Liz. She’s created a za’atar monster out of me. Before last week I’d never had za’atar. But now it’s my new favorite spice. I’m not even exactly sure what za’tar is. (Yes, I could google it but am too lazy.) I do know however that it makes a for a killer salad and smokin’ chicken tacos. I’m in lurve.

I’d heard of za’atar and am always up for trying new flavors so I picked a za’atar blend at a spice market in Seattle last year only to throw it in my spice drawer where it quickly got pushed to the back out of sight and mind. When I cleaned out my spice drawer a few weeks back I not only found it but was determined to do something with it in the near future. This is where Liz comes in. A mere two days later, she created a Lebanese Chickpea Salad using za’atar. It looked fresh and was cleanse friendly so I gave it a whirl. I’ve made it twice in the past week.

And now it’s the star ingredient of this weeks tacos- minus the chickpeas. Really folks, you must figure out what this is za’atar thing is, where you can get your hands on some and then you must make these tacos asap. My husband who claims he doesn’t like chicken (apparently I make it too much) gave me a sort of grunt and fist pump after taking one bite. He then proceeded to eat his face off. So yeah… either he likes chicken after all or these tacos are just that good. I’m going with the latter if that’s alright with you.

I’ve been loving the corn tortillas lately (fried in coconut oil for the win!) and that’s what I generally use for my tacos but had a serious hankering for a flour-y soft shell tortilla so that’s what I went with this time. It was the right call. These tacos are pure comfort and the juice from the salad soaks nicely into the tortillas making it drippy, lick your fingers good. Speaking of flour tortillas, have you ever made your own? I haven’t but after seeing these last week, I think it’s high time I give it a go.

So for a quick recap:
1. Za’atar is the goods.
2. Liz is the man woman.
3. My husband likes chicken.
4. It’s time to sign off and go ride some powder.

Happy Taco Tuesday!

Za’atar Chicken Tacos

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Ingredients

For the chopped salad:

• 3/4 cup diced red bell pepper
• 3/4 cup diced tomato
• 3/4 cup diced cucumber
• scant 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 teaspoons za’atar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the chicken tacos:

• 1 lb organic chicken cutlets
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon za’atar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 lemon
• flour tortillas
• cucumber dill dip or greek yogurt for serving

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Instructions

1. To make the salad that goes on the tacos, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. I like the salad to sit for an hour or so before serving so I like to make this a few hours before serving. It’s fine if you make it just before though!
2. To cook the chicken, season the cutlets with garlic powder, salt and za’atar.
3. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken cutlets 3-4 minutes each side or until cooked through. Remove from plan and slice on the diagonal.
4. Serve tacos in flour tortillas with chicken, a scoop of the chopped salad and topped with greek yogurt. Squeeze a little lemon on tacos if desired.