An Arab, a chicken and a bowl walk into a bar

There’s not a punch line, but they do go so well together! So here’s the background story. For those of you that don’t know me I’m half Egyptian, 1/4 Syrian, and 1/4 Greek, which lends to my love of food, wine, and cooking. I joke that I was born with a wooden spoon, in lieu of a silver one, in my hand and was embedded with the love of cooking deep down in my DNA.

I don’t make Middle Eastern dishes very often because they are really time consuming and they just never taste as good as my mom’s or Teta’s (grandma). I usually can get these dishes past novice eaters, but since my hubby and I got together when we were babies he knows what the real stuff tastes like. That being said, I have a few dishes I’ve mastered and will be highlighting them in future posts.

This meal, however, is super simple and easy to replicate whether you were born with a wooden spoon or not. Not only is it extremely tasty, it’s healthy too! It’s a very well rounded meal chocked full with protein, veggies, stomach friendly fermented toppings, and good fats! I’m currently on a cleanse (more on that later) so I’ve been making this dish multiple times a week, but even off the cleanse it’s a weekly staple in our household. Also I always make enough for lunch leftovers since this meal packs up really well. I hope you enjoy this dish and recipe as much as I do!

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

head of iceberg lettuce

2 beefsteak tomatoes chopped

2 cucumbers chopped

3-4 radishes sliced thin

black olives

diced pickles

turnips

lemon wedges

tahini

Rice

feta cheese (optional)

Souvlakia seasoning or Zaatar mix (most ethnic grocery stores carry this, but if you can’t find it make your own seasonings using dried dill, oregano, garlic salt, sesame, and white pepper.

Heat over to 375 degrees. Season chicken with Souvlakia or Zaatar mix and cook for 25 minutes. While chicken is cooking chop all the veggies. During the week I make my life easy and buy Uncle Ben’s pre-made rice so all I have to do is heat it in the microwave. Once chicken is cooked, slice it into bite sized piece. Assembly the “bowl” (I use a plate) with a base of rice, lettuce, cucumbers, radish rounds, olives, and pickles. Squeeze a wedge of lemon over the mixture. Add cooked chicken and pink pickled turnips then generously (for me extremely generously) drizzle tahini over the dish. All that’s left to do is dig in!

What to pair?

There are many directions wine wise for this dish. It’s a light chicken based meal so go with a fruit forward light to medium bodied red wine. There are a lot of options….. Grenache, Sangiovese, Gamay, and, of course, my beloved Pinot Noir. Now you could go a totally different direction with a full fledged authentic libation such as Arak or Ouzo, just make sure you have plenty to eat before tossing one of these back….just a tad higher in alcohol than wine. So cheers, hattaf, or opa! Ouzo or Arak