Spice blend? Check. Fresh lemon? Check. Great dinner? Done. The exotic and the familiar meet here, in a lickety-split dish that tastes like it spent hours marinating. If you have the time to go outside and grill, that little bit of smoke adds something special here, but an indoor griddle or grill pan works fine. When I need to coat a pan with cooking spray, I use only organic olive oil or coconut varieties. I match the spray to the type of cuisine I’m cooking, favoring coconut oil for Asian- or Indian-inspired dishes and olive oil for more Mediterranean-style food.
Serves 4 to 6
In a medium bowl, whisk the lemon zest and juice with the za’atar, oil, garlic, salt, and pepper until incorporated. Add the chicken to the bowl and toss to coat.
Heat a grill pan or griddle over medium-high heat, then coat with cooking spray. Grill the chicken and lemon wedges until grill marks form, about 3 minutes. Flip and grill until the chicken is fully cooked, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve the chicken with the grilled lemon wedges.
Tip If you can’t find chicken cutlets, make your own: Using a sharp knife held parallel to your work surface, carefully slice a boneless, skinless chicken breast horizontally into 2 or 3 pieces of generally equal thickness—but don’t worry, the math police won’t be coming by with a ruler to check the accuracy of your work.