Golden lemon and rosemary chicken wrap with cabbage salad and tahini
Chicken thighs browned in a pan with rosemary and lemon zest, drizzled with lemon juice after slicing, with a quick cabbage salad, sumac onions, pickles and garlic tahini sauce in a large toasted tortilla.
Method
- In a shallow bowl, finely grate the zest of half a lemon over the chicken thighs. Add 7 g olive oil, the very finely chopped leaves from half a sprig of rosemary, 2.5 g salt and the pepper. Turn to coat thoroughly and spread the thighs flat. Leave while preparing the vegetables, without lemon juice, as the acid would prevent browning.
- Shred the cabbage into 2 mm strips and coarsely grate the carrot. In a salad bowl, mix with 1 g salt, 10 g lemon juice and 5 g olive oil. Massage by hand for 1 minute: the cabbage should soften, glisten and release a little water while staying crisp. Add the chopped parsley and set aside. In a small bowl, rub the onion half-moons with the sumac between your fingers: they will turn pink and lose their harsh bite. Slice the pickles lengthways.
- Heat a 24 cm non-stick or cast-iron frying pan with 3 g olive oil over a medium-high heat for 1 minute. Lay the chicken thighs flat and place the remaining half-sprig of rosemary beside them, first crushing it with the flat of a knife; it will fry gently and flavour the fat. Leave the meat undisturbed for 4–5 minutes: the undersides should release easily and be golden in patches. Turn, reduce to a medium heat so the zest and rosemary stuck to the flesh do not brown, and cook for another 4–5 minutes. It is ready when the juices from a cut in the thickest part run clear and the flesh has no pink traces, or the thermometer reads 74°C; thighs stay juicy up to 80°C. Transfer to the board and rest for 3 minutes, discarding the rosemary. Make the sauce in step 4 while the chicken cooks.
- In a bowl, whisk the tahini with 20 g lemon juice, the grated garlic and 1 g salt. The paste will stiffen and become lumpy, which is normal. Add the very cold water in 3 additions, whisking: the sauce will thicken at first, then become white, smooth and thick enough to coat a spoon. Stop when it coats the spoon without running, using 30–40 g water depending on the tahini.
- Wipe the pan with kitchen paper and return to a medium heat. Warm the tortillas one at a time in the dry pan for 20–30 seconds on each side: they should puff in places, develop a few golden spots and smell toasted. Keep under a clean cloth. Cut the chicken across into 1 cm strips and drizzle with the remaining 10 g lemon juice and its resting juices.
- Spread half the sauce over the lower third of each tortilla, leaving a 3 cm border, and add a streak of harissa if you like. Add the well-drained cabbage salad, squeezing it in your hand, the chicken, sumac onion and pickles. Fold the bottom over the filling, fold in the sides and roll tightly. If the tortilla will not close, remove 2–3 spoonfuls of cabbage salad and serve alongside. Cut diagonally in half and serve one wrap per person.
Variants and their steps remain below the recipe.
Lighter version
Less tahini means a less generous, less creamy sauce around the chicken. The larger cabbage salad adds crunch and acidity, while the meat keeps the aroma developed when seared with rosemary.
- Extra virgin olive oil : 6 g
- Tahini (raw sesame paste) : 25 g
- Water : 15 g
- White cabbage : 200 g
- Carrots : 100 g
- Fine salt : 5 g
For the chicken, use only 4 g oil: 2 g in the marinade in step 1 and 2 g in the pan in step 3; the thighs then cook in their own fat. In step 2, use 2 g oil and 1.5 g salt for the 300 g vegetables. In step 4, add 10–20 g water, until the sauce coats the spoon. In step 6, put about 110 g vegetables in each wrap, as in the regular version, and serve the extra cabbage alongside as a salad.
Less sauce, more crunchy cabbage, with the same flavour.
On your plate
Recipe
627 kcal · protein 39 g · carbs 44 g · fat 30 g
Quantities per person
- 60 g Large soft pareve wheat tortillas (25 cm)
- 140 g Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot)
- 70 g White cabbage
- 40 g Carrots
- 20 g Red onions
- 1 g Sumac
- 4 g Flat-leaf parsley
- 20 g Gherkins / small pickled cucumbers
- 20 g Tahini (raw sesame paste)
- 50 g Lemon
- 2 g Garlic
- 20 g Water
- 7.5 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 2.5 g Fresh rosemary
- 2.25 g Fine salt
- 0.25 g Ground black pepper
- 2.5 g Harissa
Cooking tips
For the office, leave the chicken strips to cool for 15 minutes, then refrigerate. Pack in three containers: the chicken, drained cabbage salad, onion and pickles in one box; the tahini sauce in a small pot; and the tortillas in their bag. Keep chilled during transport. The sauce thickens in the fridge, so loosen with a spoonful of water before spreading. At lunchtime, microwave the tortilla for 15 seconds if possible, as it cracks when rolled cold, then spread, fill and roll. Eat by the following day at the latest. If using 1 cm thick breast escalopes instead of thighs, cook for 2 minutes 30 seconds to 3 minutes per side and remove as soon as they reach 72–74°C, with opaque but still supple flesh and clear juices; breast meat dries out quickly and is less pleasant cold.
An Israeli-style office wrap with chicken thighs, cabbage salad, sumac, pickles and garlic tahini sauce, flavoured with rosemary and lemon.
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