Prep time 20 min cook time 25 min Jump to recipe
This Mediterranean chicken, bulgur wheat and tahini bowl is a must for those of you who are into “bowls”.
As for me, I never really got into the bowl “thing”. I prefer eating off a plate where I can see each separate component of a meal and mix a mouthful the way I want. I usually eat out of a bowl when I am with friends and know they won’t be offended as I slurp my soup, a habit I picked up in Japan where it is socially acceptable to do so. It makes sense to slurp air through the soup to get all the subtle aromas of each individual ingredient. A bit like what wine tasters do. You should try it sometime.
With the popularity of meals in a bowl, you now have Hawaiian Poké bowls that traditionally contain cubes of raw fish, rice and vegetables. You have Buddha bowls that are predominantly vegetarian and are usually based on grains – rice, quinoa, farro etc., tofu, lentils, chickpeas, noodles and vegetables – grilled, steamed or raw plus some sort of dressing. Then there are Acai bowls made from the trendy Acai berries and smoothie bowls which are usually sweet and more suitable for breakfast.
So for those of you who are into bowls, this special Mediterranean recipe is for you. I created it with some of my favorite ingredients – grilled chicken strips marinated in aromatic Za’atar, whole grain coarse bulgur wheat with chopped walnuts and grilled zucchini – all held together with a lemony tahini sauce and garnished with freshly pickled red onions. It has become one of our favorite dinners at home and has slowly converted me to the meal in a bowl concept.
In this recipe, you cook all the ingredients separately and they all come together at the very end. If that sounds time consuming, let me assure you that if you follow the steps I have suggested, you can with a little practice, have a delicious, healthy and very satisfying mid-week meal or TV dinner prepped and cooked in under 45 minutes. Here’s how.
Mediterranean Bowl
by
Derek Farwagi
Equipment
- Medium mixing bowl
- Four small bowls to keep prepped ingredients
- Small Saucepan
- grill pan or skillet
Ingredients
- ½ Small sized red onion or quarter of a large one
- ½ cup Red wine vinegar
- 4 tbsp Tahini paste
- 1 Small lemon
- 1 Garlic clove crushed
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper or chilli flakes
- 3 Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp Za'atar (see recipe note below)
- 1 tbsp tbsp Sumac (see recipe note below)
- ½ cup Coarse grain bulgur wheat
- A Handful Coarsely chopped walnuts
- 1 Zuchini
- Salt
Instructions
- Cut a small red onion lengthwise then thinly slice one half in crescent shaped slices. Soak in red wine vinegar and set aside.
- Into a small mixing bowl, add 4 tablespoons tahini paste, the juice of one small lemon Mix well untill it thickens then slowly add 3 tablespoons of water and stir well till you get the consistency of thick cream. Add one pressed garlic clove, a teaspoon Aleppo pepper or chilli flakes and salt to taste.
- Boil water and while it is warming up, flatten the chicken thighs and cut them into a half inch wide strips and set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl mix two tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of salt, two tablespoons Za’atar and one tablespoon Sumac.
- Mix chicken in the Za’atar marinade making sure that all the strips are well coated and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, add bulgur wheat and pour 3/4 cup of the hot water and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes on a low heat. Remove from heat and add a handful of coarsely chopped walnuts. Fluff up the bulgur wheat and set aside in the pan.
- Heat a grill pan on medium high heat. While it is heating up, slice the zucchini in quarter inch slices.
- Grill zucchini slices for 2 minutes each side without trurning them. Add a pinch of salt and set aside in a bowl or plate.
- Grill the chicken strips for 2 minutes each side without turning.
- Assemble bowls.On a bed of fluffed up bulgur wheat put a layer of zucchini. Add a layer of Za’atar chicken strips and drizzle generously with the Tahini sauce.
- Drain the onions, garnish each bowl and serve at room temperature with extra tahini on the side.
GET INSPIRED. SUBSCRIBE NOW.