‘Tis the season for entertaining, and I have a MIND Diet appetizer for you. It tastes delicious and a little fancy but it’s easy to throw together. You can even make it ahead of time. Za’atar Chicken with Crispy Flatbread might be the holy grail of healthy holiday hors d’oeuvres. Heck, it’s even got the seasonal red and green color scheme going on. So festive!

Feel free to get creative with how you serve this dish. Here I have you cut flatbread into small, three-bite-size pieces and toast them for a tapas-style dish. If you don’t need an appetizer, feel free to skip the toasting and serve the toppings with soft flatbread. Or make it into a salad: toss the arugula with a lemon and olive oil dressing and top it with the rest of the ingredients. Not toasting the flatbread turns this recipe into a 30-minute meal, perfect for a MIND Diet weeknight dinner.

I do want to note here: In my opinion, ground chicken is one of those things where the quality of what you buy is really important. The cheaper stuff just does not taste very good to me. Try to get organic if you can, or at least get a brand that is not T*son, P*rdue, etc. The flavors of this dish are delicate enough that you don’t want any off-flavors from cheap chicken taking over.

As far as brain-health benefits, every ingredient in Za’atar Chicken with Crispy Flatbread is MIND Diet recommended. We’ve got chicken. We’ve got leafy greens. We’ve got whole grains, colorful veggies, olive oil, nuts, and two types of berries (sumac and cranberries). I hope you’ll give this one a try, either for your holiday entertaining or as a 30-minute meal to get you through this busy season. Happy MIND Diet eating!

Za’atar Chicken with Crispy Flatbread

Za'atar Chicken with Crispy Flatbread makes a healthy, festive appetizer, or a 30-minute meal with some small adjustments.

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Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 8

Notes

To make ahead, follow steps 1 through 3 to prepare the chicken and the flatbread crisps. Store separately. When ready to serve, warm up the chicken, then follow step 4.

If you would rather serve this as an entree, skip the toasting and serve the toppings with soft flatbread. Or make it into a salad: toss the arugula with a lemon and olive oil dressing and top it with the rest of the ingredients.

Ingredients

  

Ingredients

• 8 ounces whole grain flatbread such as lavosh
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries lower sugar preferred
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon za’atar plus more for garnish
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 1/4 cup pistachios roughly chopped
• 6 radishes thinly sliced
• 3 ounces baby arugula

Instructions

 

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 °F. Cut flatbreads into approximately 3-inch pieces and place on a baking sheet in a single layer. Place flatbreads in oven and bake for about 13 to 15 minutes, or until browned and crispy, rotating and flipping halfway through. Set aside. (You may need to do this step in 2 batches.)
• While the flatbreads are cooking, combine the olive oil, chicken, cranberries, tomato paste, za’atar, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a large skillet over medium heat. Break up the chicken with a wooden spoon. Add enough water to barely cover the mixture and bring to a simmer, uncovered.
• Continue to simmer the chicken, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, most of the water has evaporated, and the mixture is coated with sauce. Remove from heat, drizzle generously with olive oil, and season with salt, pepper, and additional za’atar to taste.
• Top flatbread crisps with chicken mixture, sprinkle with pistachios, and top with radishes and arugula. Serve immediately.

Keyword Arugula, Brain health, Chicken, Cranberries, extra virgin olive oil, Leafy greens, Make-ahead, MIND Diet, Pistachios, Radish, Whole grain