Hello hello! I know it has been a while so apologies if I am a tad rusty, especially on my writing – i spend most of my time communicating with an almost two year old so we are on a one word conversational level around here. But I have been cooking a fair amount and so thought it was about time to get back on the ole bike.
Chloe is very into “dipping” these days so i have been making a lot of relatively plain things for her to then dip into a fun sauce or hummus (or ketchup if it has been a long week). For my own meal I will just remix these items into fajitas (if beans are involved) or a grain bowl with the dipping sauce as dressing. This week required some extra work because I somehow got 6lbs of chicken in my grocery delivery and with zero freezer space I have been remixing chicken all week, exhausting my usual suspects.
What I like about this recipe is that it uses leftover chicken and it is totally adjustable to how much you have on hand – add more chickpeas if you need to bulk it up or add none if you have chicken coming out your eyeballs like me. The grapes were an experiment and I really like the sweet juicy addition to such a toasty savory curry flavor. If you dont have grapes, soak some raisins and that should do the trick!
I am obsessed with za’atar and put it on and in everything i can – like eggs or bread dough. It is so good. I have a dry blend but you can also find an oil based mixture (ive seen this at whole foods). I can’t recommend it enough for your pantry but if you don’t have it, your croutons will still be delicious tossed in oil and some salt.
- 1 cup seedless grapes
- A few tbl olive oil
- 2 tsp za’atar*
- 1 piece day-old naan bread (about 3 ounces), torn into bite-size pieces
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 ½ cups shredded chicken
- 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (if canned, rinse and dry thoroughly)
- 1 ½ cups loosely packed spinach, roughly chopped or torn
For the vinaigrette
- 2-3 tbl lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Preheat oven to 450˚F. Toss grapes in a few tablespoons of olive oil, season with salt and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, until caramelized. While these cook, toast the croutons.
- If using a dry za’atar seasoning, mix the 2 tsp with 1-2 tbl olive oil, if using the oil za’atar mixture give it a stir. Toss torn naan with the za’atar oil blend and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake 5 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
- To make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice with a few pinches of salt and pepper. While whisking, drizzle in the olive oil and keep whisking until emulsified. Adjust the seasoning and acidity to taste.
- In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat add 3 tablespoons vinaigrette and the curry powder, stirring to dissolve. Add the chicken and chickpeas to the pan. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, or until the chicken and chickpeas are warmed through; turn down the heat if the curry powder starts to burn. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and toss with spinach, grapes and croutons. Serve warm.
Leave a Reply