Turkish Grilled Chicken Thighs with Sweet Corn

A fast Turkish-inspired grilled chicken dinner with smoky yogurt-spiced thighs, sweet July corn, zucchini, and Walla Walla onion for a WA-seasonal weeknight plate.

Ingredients

  • Foster Farms Fresh & Natural Chicken Thighs Value Pack
    1 1/4 lb bone-in or boneless chicken thighs $2.79
  • Kroger® Sweet Corn on the Cob
    2 ears $2.99
  • Zucchini
    1 medium, sliced lengthwise into planks $1.79
  • Private Selection® Walla Walla Sweet Onions
    1 small onion, cut into thick rounds $3.99
  • Fresh Organic Lemon
    1 lemon, zested and juiced $1.29
  • Kroger® Whole Garlic Bulbs
    2 cloves, finely grated or minced $2.49
  • Parsley
    1/4 cup chopped $1.29
  • Plain Greek yogurt
    1/3 cup
  • Olive oil
    2 tablespoons, divided
  • Tomato paste
    1 tablespoon
  • Ground cumin
    1 teaspoon
  • Smoked paprika or sweet paprika
    1 teaspoon
  • Dried oregano or dried mint
    1/2 teaspoon
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
    to taste
  • Red pepper flakes or Aleppo-style pepper
    optional, to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat a grill to medium-high and oil the grates. Pat the chicken dry; shuck the corn; slice the zucchini into long planks and the Walla Walla onion into thick rounds so they do not fall through the grates.
  2. In a bowl, mix the yogurt, tomato paste, lemon zest, half the lemon juice, garlic, cumin, paprika, oregano, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Coat the chicken thoroughly and let it sit while the grill heats, about 10 minutes.
  3. Brush the corn, zucchini, and onion with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Grill the chicken, skin side down first if skin-on, turning occasionally, until deeply charred in spots and the thickest part reaches 165°F, about 18–24 minutes depending on thigh size. Move pieces to a cooler part of the grill if the yogurt marinade browns too quickly.
  5. At the same time, grill the corn and onion for 10–12 minutes, turning often, until lightly charred and tender; grill the zucchini for 3–5 minutes per side until just tender with grill marks.
  6. Transfer the chicken to a plate and rest for 5 minutes. Cut the corn kernels from the cobs if desired, or leave the ears whole; roughly chop the grilled onion and zucchini into bite-size pieces.
  7. Toss the grilled vegetables with the remaining lemon juice and chopped parsley. Plate the chicken with the lemony grilled corn, zucchini, and onion, spooning over any resting juices.

Total time: 50 minutes

Estimated cost: About $13–$18 using the listed chicken, corn, zucchini, Walla Walla onion, lemon, garlic, and parsley; pantry spices and yogurt not included.

Health notes: Serves 2; roughly 620 calories per serving with high protein, moderate carbs from corn, and healthy vegetable fiber.

Drink pairing: A crisp lager or sparkling lemonade works especially well with the smoky grill char and lemony yogurt marinade.