A good friend of mine went to Israel and brought me back a delicious rub for meats. This is my attempt at replicating it. It works on anything and everything! Make extra and store in a cool, dry place for up to six months.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 40 min |
| Prep: | 5 min |
| Inactive: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 palmfuls) sweet paprika
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 palmfuls) ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) ground coriander
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (medium to hot in spice level)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (1/2 palmful), coarse kosher salt
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (split, 8 pieces) 1 1/2 to 2 pounds
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- Warm pita or flat bread, for passing
- Serving suggestions: Serve with tomato relish and zucchini (recipes follow). Piling the relish and the chicken in a warm pita is a fun way to combine the flavors and textures of the 2 recipes.
- 3 tablespoons (a couple of glugs) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ripe lemon, juiced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt
- 4 small, tender zucchini, about 1 1/2 pounds (look in organic section of produce counter)
- 3 tablespoons (3 turns around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup (half a bundle) chopped fresh mint
- 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves (a couple of handfuls)
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 3 vine ripe or small round red tomatoes
- 2 orange or yellow tomatoes
- 1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup (2 handfuls) flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Israeli Spice Rub:
- For the spice rub combine the paprika, cumin, oregano, coriander, crushed red pepper flakes, and kosher salt in a bowl. Place in a sealable jar, keep in a cool dry place for up to 6 months.
- Place chicken in a shallow dish. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil to barely coat the meat. Rub chicken liberally with 4 tablespoons of the spice blend. Let stand 10 minutes.
- Grill chicken 6 or 7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.
- Seed and chop the tomatoes and combine with onion and parsley in a shallow bowl. Combine oil, lemon juice, and spices in a small plastic container with a lid. Shake dressing to combine and pour over salad. Season salad with kosher salt and toss to combine well. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.
Reviews
This is my “go to” recipe when I want to impress and assure that it will be perfect….and it is, every time! Great combination, great taste. Thanks, Rachel.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
Cut zucchini into 1/4-inch slices. Add oil, garlic, and zucchini to pan and saute 7 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally with a firm shake of the skillet, until zucchini are just tender.
Add mint, parsley, salt, and pepper, and cook 1 minute longer. Remove from heat and serve.
This recipe yields 4 servings.
Cut zucchini into 1/4-inch slices. Add oil, garlic, and zucchini to pan and saute 7 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally with a firm shake of the skillet, until zucchini are just tender.
Add mint, parsley, salt, and pepper, and cook 1 minute longer. Remove from heat and serve.
This recipe yields 4 servings.
Love this recipe! Been making it for years…we don’t make the zucchini segment & I combine the dressing with the tomato relish(I leave the seeds in tomato) & make double of that then pour over the grilled chicken…Flavors are wonderful!
We love the chicken and the tomato relish, but what happens with the zucchini? Is it a salad? Saute? Where are the directions?
Haven’t tried this yet, but will be using the rub recipe tonight. I am really commenting on your measuring techniques – I love them!! 🙂
This is my new favorite spice rub. I made it originally for chicken, but I’ve been putting it on pretty much everything, including salmon and potatoes. It’s delicious.
My son found the recipe, and helped me to make this dish. It was easy to make and very
tasty!!!
tasty!!!
I was sifting through my 30 Minute Meals 2 book for something new to try. This caught my eye and I am SO GLAD I tried it!
If you skip the pita (which we didn’t–I used the Hungry Girl 100 cal pita–very chewy and soft!, you have a very healthy dish.
For the salad, I used regular tomatoes that looked good in the store (no Israeli tomatoes around here!, and I used just a small bit of fresh parsley since it’s normally too strong for us. I might try cilantro next time per some of the suggestions here. We crammed it all into the pita and I served it with Rachael’s yogurt sauce from another recipe (which is a STAPLE in our house when we make Mediterranean food! Use the yogurt sauce from Rachael’s Chicken or Lamb Patty Pockets recipe here.
We loved this dish so much! It was quick and easy & I have plenty of spice mixture on hand to make it again. Can’t say enough good things about it!
Wow was this tasty! To save time, I just used some of the spice mixture made for the chicken in the salad dressing (instead of individually adding the ingredients). I will DEFINITELY make this again (maybe tonight :)!
the title says it all, use fresh lemon juice