Herb, garlic and chilli-stuffed chicken thighs recipe
Fragrant garlic, aromatic coriander (cilantro) and spicy chillies work in perfect harmony in this one-tray wonder. The potatoes are optional, but the crispiness and flavour that come from cooking them alongside the chicken and its rendered fat is wonderful.
Tips:
- The stuffing works just as well with other cuts of meat, such as flank steak or chicken breast, and lamb offal.
- You can replace the coriander with 2 tablespoons crushed dried herbs, such as za’atar, oregano, marjoram, thyme, dill etc. If you do, reduce the salt in the stuffing to ¼ teaspoon.
Ingredients
For the chicken- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 3 fresh red chillies, finely diced
- 2 jalapeño peppers, finely diced
- 15 g fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, finely chopped
- 25 g walnut pieces, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 0.5 tsp ground cumin
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 0.2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 450 g potatoes (3 small to medium), cut into wedges
- 1 pinch each of salt and freshly ground black pepper
Details
- Cuisine: Arab
- Recipe Type: Chicken
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 20 mins
- Cooking Time: 45 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- First prepare the chicken. Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and trim off any straggly bits. Sprinkle all over with the salt. Drizzle with the olive oil, rub all around, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.
- Next make the stuffing. In a bowl, combine the garlic, both chillies, the coriander, walnuts, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, salt and black pepper, and mix to combine.
- Gently loosen the skin from the thigh meat with your fingers to make a pocket, but make sure the skin is still connected to the meat. Divide the stuffing evenly among the thighs and place it in the pocket between the skin and the meat, pulling the skin so it covers the chicken and stuffing.
- To assemble the traybake, put the potato wedges in a 23 × 33 cm (9 x 13 inch) roasting pan and sprinkle lightly with salt. Nestle the thighs between the potato wedges and use any drippings or remaining oil to rub on the potato wedges. Top everything with a few twists of pepper.
- Transfer to the oven and roast until the meat is cooked through, the skin is crisp to your liking, and the potatoes are crisped and browned, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Let rest for 5 minutes, then transfer to a platter or individual plates and serve.
This recipe is from The Arabesque Table by Reem Kassis. Published by Phaidon. Food photography by Dan Perez.
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