Honey za'atar grilled chicken drumsticks

And a shirazi-inspired panzanella

Hello! Welcome back! Skip all the rambling and scroll right to the bottom of this post for a printer-friendly PDF of the recipe only.

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Hello! Today’s recipe is summertime on a plate. It’s a two-parter. The first is honey za’atar chicken drumsticks that we’re grilling, which means you hopefully get to spend some time just hanging out outside on a warm evening, sipping on something delicious while it cooks. Plus, it’s easy-peasy.

The second is equally as simple to put together, and very complementary. A mash-up of two of my favorite salads: Italian panzanella and Iranian shirazi.

The chicken drumsticks are sweet and moist, the salad is juicy and zesty, and together it’s just the perfect meal to eat on a balmy summer evening!! Big yum.

Tell me more

This is an excellent make-ahead meal because all the prep can be done ahead of time, so when it’s time to eat all you have to do is grill your chicken and assemble your salad.

The chicken is marinated in a mixture of za’atar, honey, soy sauce, and olive oil, which gives it a sweet but undeniably savory taste that’s accented with zesty herbal and sesame notes from the za’atar. And yes, we’re breaking out the grill again! The chicken gets perfectly caramelized as it cooks over the flames.

Before we start

• Panzanella is an Italian salad made with dry bread that is mixed with tomatoes and onions. The bread soaks up all the juices, becoming soft again. This salad is perfect in its most classic form, but today’s recipe is not traditional! I toast my bread in the oven to get it niiiiice and crunchy, and I’ve added lots more to the mix in addition to tomatoes and onions. So, it’s more of a chunky chopped salad with croutons thrown in, but the idea is the same. The toasted bread soaks up some of the juices, softens up, and everything marinates together.

• Shirazi salad is an Iranian salad that consists of finely chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions and is dressed with lots of herbs, lemon, garlic, dried mint, and sumac. It’s sooo tangy and refreshing — probably one of the most addictive salads you can make. This borrows on all of those flavors, but without all the fine chopping, making prep that much easier.

• I will admit I am not a grill master, though I am attempting to woman the grill more and more these days. As a newbie trying to improve my skills, I can tell you an instant-read thermometer is a lifesaver. (I also believe this when cooking meat in general, not just on the grill). There are some fancy options out there that connect to your phone via Bluetooth and have lots of bells and whistles, but this one is 16 bucks with 4.5 stars and nearly 70k reviews on Amazon — that’s good enough for me.

• This recipe is so good we made it multiple times this week. The first time I also grilled up some simple zucchini to go along with it, which was a nice addition. If you want to do this too, just brush or toss thinly sliced zucchini with avocado or olive oil and salt it on both sides. Grill on medium heat for 2-3 minutes per side. You can do this while the chicken is taking its post-grill rest.

The recipe

Note: recipe videos are posted on my Instagram.

Serves: 4

Cook time: 40-45 minutes, plus marinating time (15 minutes for the salad, 25-30 minutes to grill the chicken)