Mom makes plans for Shabbat dinner and somebody laughs.
Here’s what I wanted to make for dinner: Toum chicken
Here’s what I actually made: Lemon chicken thighs
When life gives you lemons, make this lemony salad and lemony chicken. I was planning to talk all about toum this week but I didn’t double check my garlic and alas, much of it was moldy. I promise that we’ll feature toum very soon. If you love garlic, it will make your summer. If you don’t love garlic, smile and nod politely.
Menu: Lemony Kale and Quinoa Salad with Hearts of Palm, cut vegetable platter, hummus, lemon chicken thighs, grilled zucchini, challah
Lemony Kale and Quinoa Salad with Hearts of Palm (serves 4-6)
- 3/4 cup dry quinoa, cooked and cooled
- 1 bunch kale, thinly sliced (this was about 4.5 cups kale)
- 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved (or chopped tomatoes)
- 1 cups sliced hearts of palm (optional, but delicious)
dressing
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher or grated salt
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
Cook quinoa according to package directions and cool. Whisk dressing together in a large salad bowl, then add remaining ingredients and toss gently. Salad should sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. The leftovers were excellent. You could definitely make this a day or two ahead of time and it would be fine.
Cut vegetable platter
I’m sharing this just to show you that your vegetable platter doesn’t have to be exciting to get enthusiastically eaten.
Some weeks I make my own hummus to go with the veggies. This was not one of those weeks.
Lemon Chicken Thighs (serves 4-6)
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (scale as needed for your crowd, make more if you want leftovers)
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons oil (I like to use sunflower, any vegetable oil will do.)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (Yes, salt the kosher chicken. Trust me.)
Two options:
A – whisk marinade ingredients in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken, add the chicken and fold until chicken is thoroughly coated.
B – put chicken and marinade ingredients in a gallon size Ziploc bag, massage to combine.
Let rest on the counter for 30-60 minutes. If you want to prep this ahead of time, store in the fridge but take it out at least 20 minutes before cooking.
To cook: Grill, or broil at 400 degrees, for 9 minutes, then flip and cook 6 minutes on the second side.
Grilled Zucchini
Cut zucchini according to your preference. I like it cut on the diagonal, about 1/4 inch thick, but you could do thicker slices, rounds, or spears. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (optional). Let sit for at least 20 minutes. It should cook in about the same amount of time as the chicken thighs.
That’s all for this week! Want ideas about a particular food/genre? I take requests. Have a good Shabbos!
Want to take part in our new series? Let us know! We’re happy to have your voice in the conversation. Dinner not your thing? Share your lunch/brunch ideas, too. We all gotta eat!
