Parsley Chicken and Lime Cilantro Rice

Wednesday, October 1, 2008, by Leigh Anne

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We eat a lot of chicken at our house so I am always on the look out for new chicken recipes. The recipe for Parsley Chicken has been in my “To Try” folder for a while now. I originally found the recipe over at Good Things Catered.

The recipe calls for something called “za’atar”. I had no idea what it was, so when in doubt - Google!

Good old Wikipedia came to my rescue and explained that za’atar is a mixture of herbs used as a condiment with Middle Eastern origins. I stopped at two local grocery stores to try and find some but with no luck. Does anyone know where to buy za’atar??

So back to Google where I found a recipe to make your own za’atar. The first ingredient it called for was sumac - I had no clue what sumac was - isn’t that a tree? It also called for thyme, oregano, marjoram and toasted sesame seeds. I had all those ingredients on hand so I mixed up a teaspoon of thyme, oregano, marjoram and a tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds and had my own version of za’atar.

This seasoning combination along with the garlic and parsley was wonderful. The chicken had tons of great flavor and was a big hit. My husband is almost always complimentary about what I make for dinner but when he mentioned 2 or 3 times how much he enjoyed dinner I KNEW it was a keeper. Parsley Chicken is a new family favorite!

I served it with our favorite rice, Lime Cilantro Rice, a spinach salad and it was a perfect dinner! Lots of green too and I love green!

The leftovers (I seem to have a lot of those lately - haven’t adjusted to cooking for only 3 people) were quickly devoured the next day.

Parsley Chicken

3 pounds trimmed boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 C. fresh flat leaf parsley, minced
1 large lemon, washed thoroughly
1/4 C red wine vinegar
1/4 C olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tsp za’atar (LA’s version - 1 tsp marjoram, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp oregano, 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds)
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

Directions:
-Pound chicken breasts down to uniform thickness throughout (about 1-inch thickness)and place in large bowl.
-Halve lemon and juice well.
-Add lemon juice to bowl

-Add remaining ingredients and use tongs to coat pieces evenly.
-Cover with plastic wrap and place into fridge for 30 mins - 1 hour.
-Preheat grill on high.
-Remove chicken from fridge and let rest until grill is up to temperature
-With tongs, move breasts around to coat evenly.
-Turn grill down to medium low heat.
-Place chicken breast-side-down onto grill.
-Do not move meat as much as possible until finished cooking on one side, about 10 minutes depending on size of chicken.
-Flip breasts over and continue cooking until almost cooked through, about 5-10 more minutes.
-Remove from grill.
-Let meat rest, covered, on cutting board for 3-5 mins before slicing and serving.

Lime Cilantro Rice

I love this rice recipe and make it at least once a week. It is just like the rice at Chipotle Restaurant. I always at least double the recipe. Leftovers freeze well.

1 tsp oil or butter

2 tsp fresh cilantro

2/3 C white basmati rice

1 C water

1/2 tsp salt

1 lime

In a 2 quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted.

Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute

Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil.

At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed.

Add in the cilantro and fluff rice with a fork.

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