Salad piled on top of a seared chicken breast and drizzled with dressing is one of my favorite recipe templates. It satisfies the craving for a lighter dinner and yet the chicken makes it substantial enough. Using boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded to an even thinness speeds up the cooking and gives more surface area for flavor. The possible combinations for the chicken seasoning, salad and dressing are unlimited.
A wet rub made with ground sumac stirred into olive oil creates the flavor for the seared chicken in this Middle Eastern version. Sumac – what is that? Or maybe you’re familiar with it. I didn’t know what it was until I tasted it in the classic Syrian Fatoush bread salad. The spice ground sumac is brick red in color and gives a mildly tart lemony flavor. It is used in many cuisines in the Middle East. I wasn’t sure how widely available it would be but I was happy to find it at several upscale grocery stores and a specialty spice stores (here in Seattle I’ve found it at Central Co-op, Metropolitan Market and World Spice Merchants.) I know that finding sumac is possibly a recipe deal breaker so I give a substitution for it just in case.
Torn pieces of pita bread tossed with olive oil and cooked in a skillet until browned and crisp add a satisfying crunch to the tender spinach leaves and thinly sliced radish and cucumber. And to drizzle over it all, the Tahini Honey Lemon Dressing – a velvety smooth concoction with just the right amounts of cilantro and garlic. Tahini paste is a player in my refrigerator pantry and is one of those ingredients you’re always happy to have on hand when needed. It’s made from ground hulled sesame seeds and most grocery stores carry it.
- For the chicken:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 6 ounces each
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon ground sumac (see note)
- Kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- For the pita croutons:
- 2 whole wheat pita breads
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- For the tahini dressing:
- ½ cup Greek-style plain yogurt
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons Tahini paste
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped (1 teaspoon)
- For the spinach salad:
- 5 oz baby spinach leaves (about 10 cups)
- 1 bunch radishes (about 12 radishes)
- ½ cucumber
- For the chicken, pound breasts to ½-inch thickness. Stir together 2 tablespoons olive oil and the sumac and brush on one side of chicken. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and place it, sumac side down, in the skillet. Cook until browned and halfway cooked, about 4-5 minutes; turn and cook until browned and chicken is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.
- For the pita croutons, tear pita bread into 1-inch pieces. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; add pita and stir to coat evenly. Cook and stir until pita is browned and crisp, about 4 minutes; sprinkle with salt and remove to cool to room temperature.
- For the Tahini dressing, whisk together all ingredients until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until using.
- For the spinach salad, trim ends from radishes and thinly slice. Peel cucumber and thinly slice. Toss together spinach, radishes, cucumbers and cooled croutons.
- To serve, put chicken on serving plates. Pile spinach salad over chicken. Drizzle with Tahini dressing. Or toss spinach with Tahini dressing then pile over chicken.
Christina says
Thank you Linda, looks delicious. I haven’t cooked with sumac, so I’m looking forward to giving it a try.
lbaugustine says
Let me know what you think!
Kelly says
Yum – have been trying to find Zatar’ of which sumac is an ingredient – not been able to find – gave up looking so is nice to hear Met has it now. Thanks!
lbaugustine says
You’re welcome. I am always happy when I can provide a source for an ingredient.
cindy Bostwick says
Sounds delicious and healthy. I am looking forward to making this- a taste of spring!
Sherilyn Peterson says
I made this last night (sans radishes which I did not have on hand) and it was delicious. My husband loved it. It will now be a part of my dinner repertoire. I enjoyed learning about a new spice, and thanks for telling us where to find it since many stores don’t carry it (like the QFC in U Village. I have some leftover sauce. Any ideas for how to use it?
lbaugustine says
Sherilyn:
I always love hearing from you and I am so glad you liked this recipe. For the leftover dressing you could use it as a dip for naan bread, cut vegetables or pita chips. You could also drizzle it over cooked rice or lentils.
Linda
Sherilyn Peterson says
I love that you have recipes by category and a print feature. I was remembering a recipe you posted a while back (Chicken breats with sumac) and it was so easy to find!
lbaugustine says
Thank for the good feedback Sherilyn. Happy Thanksgiving!
Lauren Augustine says
I made this tonight and it was SO delicious. I’m going to look for any excuse to use the dressing over the next few days. This also may become a go-to chicken rub of mine. Thank you!
lbaugustine says
You are welcome! And thank you for letting me know. I love versatility of the salad dressing and rub too. 🙂
Emily Heston says
So true! Home cooked food tastes so much better and it is the right temperature! I love sumac, I have a jar at home but haven’t used it yet. Can’t wait to try this!!
Thank you Linda!!
lbaugustine says
Emily:
I always love hearing from you. And I am happy you will give sumac a try. I wanted to tell you another way I love using it is in making the spice mix z’atar. I use z’atar when I make crostini and sprinkle it on after I have brushed olive oil on my baguette bread slices. It is soooo good!
Stay healthy and I look forward to seeing you when we can all socialize again.
Linda
XO