MEDITERRANEAN BOWLS

My lunch on repeat lately: juicy sumac chicken, crisp veggies, and a tahini caesar dressing you’ll want to drink it’s so good. Filling enough for an easy dinner, but light enough for lunch, just perfection!

The inspo for this bowl comes from a recent trip I took to Cava, which is kind of like Chipotle for Mediterranean style food. I liked it, especially their tahini caesar dressing, but immediately knew I wanted to make it better and cheaper at home. If you haven’t used Sumac before, it’s probably on my short list of 5 favorite spices - it has a complex citrusy flavor that pairs extremely well with chicken. Highly recommend seeking it out for this!

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

For the Mediterranean Chicken Bowls:

• 2-3 boneless skinless chicken thighs

• 2 tbsps olive oil

• 1 tsp sumac

• ½ tsp cumin

• ¾ tsp salt

• Lettuce, cooked brown lentils, chopped persian cucumber, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta cheese crumbles for serving

For the Tahini Caesar Dressing:

• ¼ cup tahini

• 2 tbsps lemon juice

• 1 small garlic clove

• 1 small anchovy filet or 1 tsp fish sauce

• 1 tsp dijon mustard

• 2 tbsps freshly grated parmesan

• Fresh cracked pepper

• 2-4 tbsps water *see note

*Note: depending on the brand of tahini you buy, your tahini can get clumpy when you add more ingredients. My favorite tahini brand is Soom, and it’s woman owned! Use 2-4 tbsps water and blend until you get the right consistency

Directions:

For the Mediterranean Chicken Bowls:

• Add chicken thighs to a bowl with the olive oil, sumac, cumin, and salt and mix. Let marinate on the counter for 10 minutes while you prep the rest of your ingredients.

• Make the tahini dressing by blending the tahini, lemon juice, garlic clove, anchovy filet or fish sauce, and dijon mustard. Add 1 tbsp of water at a time until desired consistency is reached. Mix in parmesan and fresh black pepper and taste to adjust for seasoning.

• If you have an air fryer, add the chicken thighs to your preheated air fryer and cook at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes depending on the thickness of your chicken.

• If you don’t, bake the chicken thighs on a baking sheet at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and reads 165 degrees F when using a thermometer.

• Let the chicken rest before slicing, then assemble your bowls.

• Add lettuce, cooked brown lentils, chopped persian cucumber, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta cheese, and chicken to a bowl. Drizzle with the tahini dressing and toss. Enjoy!

• Note: these are great for meal prep, just keep the chicken and dressing separate. Prior to eating, reheat the chicken, add to the salad bowl and toss with the dressing.