Seared yogurt marinated chicken with fresh herbs, zucchini, and creamy white beans.
This is a light Mediterranean-inspired dish with slightly smoky yogurt chicken served over sautéed zucchini, peppers, spinach, white beans, and a touch of parmesan.
This recipe calls for cooking beans in stock with parmesan rind. Now, I usually keep a bag of leftover rinds stuffed in my freezer for use in stocks, sauces, or in this case, beans. But it is completely optional, and the dish will not suffer without it. It’s there to add a little of that pungent-cheesy flavor to the beans. If you are looking to skip cooking the beans altogether, thoroughly rinse three cups of canned beans before using them.
The chicken for this dish is marinated in spiced yogurt. The yogurt tenderizes the meat and helps the spices cling to the chicken. When it is cooked, the meat will release a lot of liquid. Don’t worry, this is normal. The liquid will evaporate, and the meat will start to brown. This will happen for both sides of the chicken, so allow it to color completely before flipping.
Yogurt Chicken with Zucchini and White Beans
Ingredients
Beans
- 1/2 pound white beans
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 piece parmesan rind optional
Chicken
- 8 chicken thighs boneless and skinless
- 1 cup greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp oregano chopped
- 1/4 tsp coriander ground
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil
Vegetables
- 2 cups onion diced
- 1 1/2 cups red or yellow bell pepper diced
- 2 1/2 cups zucchini diced
- 2 tsp garlic minced
- 2 tsp oregano chopped
- 1 tsp thyme chopped
- 3 cup baby spinach
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp pepper
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1/4 cup shaved parmesan optional
Instructions
Bean
- Soak the beans overnight. Drain off the water and place them in a pot with the stock and parmesan rind if using. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the beans are tender. Discard the rind and strain the beans. Set aside until ready to use.
Chicken
- Mix the yogurt with the oregano, coriander, paprika, salt, and pepper. Coat the chicken with the yogurt mixture and refrigerate overnight.
- Heat a large skillet with oil over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers add the chicken. The chicken may need to be cooked in batches depending upon the size of your pan. Cook the chicken on one side until the liquid has evaporated and chicken has browned. Flip the chicken. Continue cooking until it is brown and cooked through. Place it on top of the beans and vegetables. Garnish with parmesan and serve.
Vegetables
- Heat a large skillet with oil over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers add the onions and bell pepper. Cook until soft. Add the garlic, zucchini, thyme and oregano to the pan. Cook until tender. Add the cooked white beans, salt, and peppper. Heat through and add the spinach. Turn off the heat and allow the spinach to wilt. Taste for seasoning and divide between 4 bowls. Top with chicken and parmesan. Serve immediately.
