Grilled chicken with za’atar and tahini - Nigel Slater

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 Grilled chicken with za’atar and tahini. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer

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Some wonderful flavours going on here with the smoky chicken and its slightly charred skin; deep nutty notes of the tahini and the underlying hit of sourness from the lemons and yogurt. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve eaten this over the past few weeks. It isn’t difficult to tease the bones from the meat with the point of a sharp knife, but you could always ask the butcher to do it for you if you prefer. 

Serves 4
chicken thighs 4 large
lemons 2, for griddling

For the marinade
olive oil 50ml
lemon juice of 1 medium
garlic 2 large cloves
za’atar 1 tbsp

For the tahini dressing
thick yogurt 200ml
tahini 4 tbsp

Remove the two bones from the chicken thighs and flatten the meat out. Place on a piece of clingfilm or even in a plastic freezer bag, then bat the meat a little with a rolling pin or cutlet bat. There is no need to go the full escalope, just flatten out the thicker parts of the thigh. It is not essential, so don’t worry if you don’t have anything suitable, it just helps to cook the meat more evenly. 

For the marinade, mix together the olive oil and the lemon juice. Crush the garlic cloves then stir into the liquid with the za’atar. Place the chicken thighs in the marinade and leave for at least 40 minutes. They will come to no harm if left overnight.

When you are ready to eat, get a cast-iron griddle hot, then place the chicken pieces, shaken of excess marinade, onto the bars of the griddle and let them cook till the skin is golden. Turn and cook the other side. They are ready when the juices run clear when pierced at their thickest place with a metal skewer. 

While the chicken is cooking, put the yogurt in a bowl and stir in the tahini. I prefer to do this lightly, leaving ribbons of the sesame paste marbling the snow-white yogurt. 

Slice the 2 lemons in half and place them cut side down on the griddle for a few minutes till they are warm. You will get more juice from them that way. Let the chicken rest for five minutes, then serve with the tahini dressing and the griddled lemons.