Author Notes
This recipe is based on a Honey and Co recipe for baked chicken, with some simplification and ingredient changes. Honey and Co has been a gold mine of ideas and inspiration for me. Their recipe has you brown chicken thighs in their own rendered fat, then bakes the chicken in a flavorful tangle of onions for an hour. This is one homely dish, until it is covered with a "salad" of parsley, red onion, and pomegranates that plays off the sweet, slightly spicy chicken. —luvcookbooks
Ingredients
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8
Chicken thighs
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3
Onions, sliced thinly
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1
Cinnamon stick
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1 teaspoon
Powdered chili (I used a Turkish chili)
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1/4 cup
Pomegranate molasses
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5
Dates, stoned and chopped (4 oz)
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1 teaspoon
Sumac
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2 teaspoons
Salt
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1 cup
Water
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3
Handfuls parsley, chopped
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1/2
Red onion, chopped
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Splash red wine vinegar
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Splash olive oil
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Pinch salt
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Handful pomegranate arils
Directions
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Place chicken thighs skin side down in a large oven proof pot. Heat gently so the fat renders out. This side will take 10 minutes or so to brown. Turn and cook the other side about 7 minutes. The pink should be gone. Remove to a plate.
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Cook the onions gently in the chicken fat until soft. Don't brown or crisp. Sprinkle over another tsp of salt, and stir in chili, dates, and pomegranate molasses. The dates will tend to stick together in a mass. Use a wooden spoon to break them up so they distribute into the sauce.
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Add the chicken thighs and stir so the onions are all around, some on top of the thighs. Sprinkle the tsp sumac over the thighs and stir one more time. Add one cup water, cover, and bake at 400 for one hour.
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While the chicken bakes, mix together the red onion and parsley with a pinch of salt and a little red wine vinegar and olive oil.
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When the hour is up, the chicken will be tender and the sauce will have cooked down but still juicy.
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Cover the chicken with the salad and pomegranate seeds. I served mine over red quinoa. Enjoy!
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