Braised Chicken Thighs with Tomato and Honey

Every week, Caroline Wright creates simple, civilized recipes for Food52 that feed four -- for under $20, in under 20 minutes.

Today: A tagine-inspired one pot meal. 

One pot dinners rule for weeknight cooking, a fact of which I know needs no convincing. I was inspired here by the richness and dynamic flavors of slow-cooked tagines and began tinkering with some pantry ingredients to find an approximation that saved on time. The result was a bowl full of tender, sauce-soaked potatoes and chickpeas and tender braised chicken and a sweet, warm scent that filled the kitchen. Told you -- not bad for a weeknight!  

Braised Chicken Thighs with Tomato and Honey 

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 medium chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on), about 2 pounds?
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 shallots
?2 garlic cloves ?
One 1-inch piece peeled ginger?
1 medium sweet potato
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon paprika?
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
?1 tablespoon honey
?1 tablespoon tomato paste?
1 cup chicken broth
One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons orange juice
Torn mint leaves for garnish, optional

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here. 

As a freelance food writer and cook, I first wrote this style of recipe as a column on my blog, The Wright Recipes, as an excuse to cook good food for my friends in a quick and simple way. 

Twenty-Dollar, Twenty-Minute™ Meals grew into a cookbook that was published by Workman in May 2013. The recipes found here are original, made especially for Food52 to once again celebrate simple food with friends.

Photo by Caroline Wright