Yield: 4 Servings

Adapted from: Melissa Clark / NY Times

This recipe was inspired by the Middle Eastern dried seasoning mix called za’atar, a combination of herbs (usually thyme, oregano and marjoram), sesame seeds and sumac, often spiked with salt. Here, plenty of lemon and garlic, are used to marinated boneless chicken thighs.
Optimum marinating time here is 8 hours. But feel free to leave it for as little as 15 minutes or as long as 24 hours. If you would rather use white meat, substitute boneless skinless breasts but reduce the cooking time by a few minutes.

• 6boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 1¾ lb)
• 6garlic cloves, grated on a Microplane or minced
• juice and zest of 2 lemons
• 3TBS extra-virgin olive oil, more for serving
• 2TBS minced fresh parsley, more for serving
• 1-2TBS za’atar
• 1½tsp kosher salt, more as needed
• 1TBS sesame seeds, more for garnish (optional)
• ⅔cup plain Greek yogurt, preferably whole milk yogurt
• ¼tsp ground black pepper

Marinate:

Combine chicken with all but 1 tsp of the grated garlic (save that tsp for the yogurt sauce), the zest and juice of 1 lemon, oil, parsley, za’atar, 1½ tsp salt, and the sesame seeds. Cover and marinate for 15 to 30 minutes at room temperature; you can refrigerate it for up to 24 hours.

Grill/Broil:

Heat grill or broiler. If grilling, cook chicken over high heat until charred in spots, 4 to 7 minutes. Flip pieces and continue grilling until just cooked through, another 4 to 7 minutes. If broiling, arrange a rack 3 to 4 inches from flame. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spread chicken out in a single layer. Broil chicken, turning halfway through cooking, until well colored and charred in spots, 4 to 7 minutes per side. Be careful that it doesn’t burn.

Make dipping sauce:

While chicken cooks, place yogurt in a small bowl. Stir in the reserved grated garlic and lemon zest and season to taste with salt. Serve the chicken drizzled with olive oil, remaining lemon juice to taste, black pepper, parsley and sesame seeds and sumac, if using, with the yogurt alongside for dipping.