Za’atar is definitely one of my favorite spices to use, and there is no shortage of ways to add it to a variety of dishes: on pita chips, roasted chickpeas, hummus, shakshuka and even garlic confit! The addition of honey in this recipe makes it the perfect festive dish for the High Holidays, but it’s also simple enough to make during the week.
This recipe is reprinted with permission from “Millennial Kosher” by Chanie Apfelbaum, ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications.
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Honey Roasted Za’atar Chicken with Dried Fruit
Sweet and savory chicken? What could be better!
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
Units
- 10 oz dried apricots (scant 2 cups)
- 10 oz pitted dried prunes (scant 2 cups)
- 3 Tbsp za’atar
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 chicken legs, skin-on
- ½ cup dry red wine
- kosher salt, to taste
- ⅓ cup honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread apricots and prunes into a 9×13-inch pan.
- In a bowl, combine za’atar and olive oil to create a paste. Rub the za’atar paste over chicken; place chicken on dried fruit. Pour wine around the chicken; sprinkle with salt.
- Cover tightly with foil; bake for 1 hour.
- Uncover the pan. Drizzle the chicken with honey. Bake, uncovered, for an additional 30-45 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with the pan juices.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Holidays
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what is za’atar?
Za’atar is both a herb and a spice blend that’s popular in the Middle East and Israel. You can read more here.
This dish has become one of our Shabbat main staples. It’s great for entertaining as it always looks so fancy, even though it’s so simple to prepare! The chicken always turns out flavorful and juicy. The little kids don’t always eat the chicken, but they love the dried fruit. I prepare it exactly as written and it always turns out beautifully (though recently I subbed out the prunes for dates because I didn’t have any dates on hand, and the dates worked perfectly).
can this be made without the skin and using breasts.
Hi Eileen, we haven’t tested this recipe using skinless breasts, however this cut has a tendency to dry out so we’d recommend checking it after the first baste (see step 4) and removing it from the oven as soon as the chicken is cooked through.
Is there an error in the recipe? At the top it says it takes 1 hr and 5 minutes. But the directions say to cook it covered for 1 hr, then add the honey and cook UNcovered for 30-45 ADDITIONAL minutes. Hunh?
I’d love to try this, but want it to turn out right. Looking forward to your reply. Thx
Hi Kaila, thank you for flagging that. The recipe time has been updated. I hope you enjoy it!
Please clarify the timing of the cooking. I haven’t seen the new cooking changes. How long for both with and without honey?
where can I buy za’atar or what substitutes for it?
Hi Rhoda, here’s an explainer on all things za’atar.
Also sahadi in Brooklyn or online, Jamie Geller, and probably Penzy’s.
Could this be made using a small chicken cut in 8ths. We have fans of all parts of the chicken
Seems simple to make and flavours that I love.I gonna try making it later this week
What goes with this? Pls build a meal for me. (Couscous, salad?)
Both of those options would work well.