this is an adaptation of a recipe from sunset magazine. very easy and makes the house smell very good. if you want to use chicken with skin and bones, that's fine - just cook it a little longer.
8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
about a half cup minced garlic
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2-1/2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves (not ground)
OR
1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves and 1-1/2 tablespoons zatar* (mmm)
1 tablespoon fresh-ground coarse black pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons salt
put chicken into a baking dish, not crowding it. in a bowl, mix together everything else. spoon the mixture over the top of the chicken. bake at 375 for about an hour and a quarter, basting with the pan juices every few minutes after the first 45 min or so. serve with rice (the drippings go nicely over the rice) and vegies.
*zatar note: the best I've ever had was some almost-black yemeni
zatar from a grocery in bernal heights. sadly, the guy who owned
the grocery packed up his family and moved to australia after september
11, selling the grocery to some chinese guys who know nothing of zatar.
then I found some beautiful green zatar at the middle eastern store on
mission near chavez - they have it in bulk from several countries.
and I also got some zatar from penzeys spices - theirs is red, believe
it or not, and smells like it has lots more sumac than thyme in it.
if you want me to get you some and send it, I'll be glad to. the
green stuff was quite inexpensive.
