Perfection on a platter... Savory chicken galette with za'atar spiced grilled chicken, basil pesto, caramelized onions, roasted bell peppers, tomatoes and as a special treat, Gouda!!
Do you remember a few days back when I had posted the Bruschetta with Gouda recipe? Maybe this will help jog your memory! Take a load of that...that was sheer perfection in 10 minutes!! Yes, midweek dinner perfection indeed.
So the angel that she is , she got me the spice I had been dreaming of..something that I had been praying to the powers that be for, asking away on facebook forums..and literally bribing, pleading and threatening my local gourmet store owner for!!
Yes, it's a lovely spice originating from the Mediterranean region called Za'atar!
I know ..it sounds exotic and scary...and you are probably more familiar with allspice, sumac and other spices used here. But don’t let the za’atar freak you out. It is an amazing Middle Eastern spice blend that has both earthy and subtle citrus undertones. It often includes spices like marjoram or thyme, oregano, sumac, cumin, and cinnamon. And it always includes sesame seeds, which add a nice nutty and woodsy flavor to the spice mix.
As is usual with Mediterranean dishes, I marinated the chicken breasts in lime, olive oil and za'atar overnight for a much more flavourful and succulent grilled breasts later.
Its really quick and easy prep followed by the oven doing all the hard work! ;)
You will not regret spicing up your roasted chicken breasts this way, though.
As this point, if you so desire you can have the Za'atar grilled chicken as is with a side of a simple salad and may be some pilaf rice. But I chose to take a much more tempting route..and also use some of the gouda my guardian-angel-sister had got.
I went the Savory Galette route, and boy oh boy, was it fun!!!
I have already done a Plum & Cherry Galette using the season's plum and cherries and topping it up with THE most fabulous dessert sauce ever. If you salted caramel was good, wait till you try my version of it! I made Vanilla Whiskey Salted caramel sauce..yup!! Doesn't that sound like manna from heaven... ??!!!! It tasted right like it too... fabulous on just some plain old vanilla ice cream, to booze up some whipped cream on your cold coffee and perfect to drizzle over desserts like these.
As for the savory galette??
Well..what can I say!! My heart led me in that direction. I was all set to make the pilaf, when these amazing tomatoes and the fabulous gouda started calling out to me..Before I knew it, my hands were reaching out for them..and a dough had magically formed!
Now it was too late to go back.
I swung into action as if shaken awake from a dream.
sliced up the za'atar grilled chicken nicely, made up a batch of ever yummilicious Basil Pesto, sliced the tomatoes, caramelized some onions (coz everything is better with caramelized onions,trust me) and wok fried some colored peppers...
And thirty minutes later, sat down with Daddylonglegs P to devour these absolutely delightful little free form tarts or galettes as the French would say!
As if that wasn't enough, the skies suddenly turned grey, with the imminent sound of thunder and oh yes, it started raining..big fat drops of it to soothe the starved Earth and a rather parched me!!
Thank you, God!!
For showering us with rain in the midst of this inferno like 42C summer ...and yes, for blessing me with za'atar. The hunt finally ended on a very happy and oh so satisfying note!!
Love,
S :)
PS: Pardon the images, it was really raining. And this was the best I could do at 5:30 pm!
RECIPE:
For the Za'atar Chicken
INGREDIENTSFor the Marinade :
- 2 lemons, juice of
- ⅔ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp ground sumac, more for later
- 1 tbsp allspice
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp paprika, more for later
- 7 large garlic cloves, lightly crushed
- 1 medium red onion, sliced or roughly chopped
- ½ large lemon, sliced
- 4 chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp Za'atar, divided
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
In a mixing bowl, combine the marinade ingredients.
Place the chicken in a deep dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover with the marinade. To ensure good flavor, work the marinade well over chicken breasts. Cover and place the chicken in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F or 220C.
Heat up the grill.
Sprinkle the chicken with a little more sumac and paprika, 1 tbsp of the za'atar, and take another tbsp of za'atar to work underneath the skin of chicken breasts.
Oil the grates of the grill well.
Oil the grates of the grill well.
Place the chicken breasts on the grill. Let it grill for 5 mins on one side. Turn over, let the other side grill for 8 minutes.
Remove from heat, and sprinkle with a little more sumac and the remaining za'atar. fresh parsley and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat, and sprinkle with a little more sumac and the remaining za'atar. fresh parsley and let it rest for 10 minutes.
At this point, if you wish, you can proceed with eating the chicken as is, with some salad, put it in a sandwich, make a tortilla wrap or make the galette like I did.
If you wish to make the Galette, the recipe os below.
For the Chicken Galette.
"A galette is a simple, crisp and delicious pastry base, free form, which can go sweet or savory. Load it up with any topping of your choice, both veg and non-veg work well, as do sweet ones with stone fruits".
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS :
For the Galette dough:
- 80ml ice cold water
- 45ml buttermilk
- 120g plain flour
- 25g cornmeal [makki ka aata]
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 90g butter, chilled cubed
Savory topping {a combination of any of the following}
- Za'atar grilled chicken
- Gouda cheese
- Mozzarella
- Caramelised onion
- Cherry tomatoes, halved
- Sliced and roasted bell peppers
- Green garlic stalks
- Extra virgin olive oil
METHOD:
For the Galette Dough:
- Cut the chilled butter into cubes.
- Place the flour, cornmeal and salt in a bowl.
- Add the cubed butter and rub it between your fingers till it resembles breadcrumb.
- Now pour in the buttermilk, followed by most of the chilled water and process until a soft, moist dough forms. Work quickly so that the dough doesn't get warm.
- Remove, divide into 2, press into flat disks, clingfilm it and chill for at least 2 hours.
Assembling :
- Preheat the oven to 200C.
- Divide each disk into two and roll out to about 6″ circles. Make sure to flour the counter first.
- Line a shallow platter with the rolled out pastry hanging over the edges, fill it up as you like,
- Spread the basil pesto leaving an one inch - one and a half inch margin
- Add gouda, mozzarella, the roasted peppers, caramelized onions, the sliced chicken and finally the tomatoes.
- Then gently fold the edges over the filling around the sides.
- Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil, salt, herbs, garlic greens etc over the filling and bake for about 30-35 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.
- Transfer to a cooling rack, leave for at least 10 minutes, then slide off with a wide spatula.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with a scattering of garlic greens, fresh herbs etc.