Thanksgiving is days away, but that didn’t stop me from whipping up a complete meal over the weekend – namely, berbere spiced chicken, carrots and chickpeas with a side of Colombian-style green beans cooked in milk. After all, a girl still needs to eat.
The inspiration? A recent shipment from Cal-Organic Farms and a recipe in Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love. Let’s just say both dishes are packed with flavor and worth making again – and again. Berbere spiced chicken, carrots and chickpeas is easy to prepare, and the meat and vegetables come out perfectly tender. Meanwhile, Colombian-style green beans cooked in milk provide a pop of crunch and color.
Now that I have plenty of food in the fridge, it’s time to turn my attention to holiday baking. This year, I’ll be tackling chef Freddie Bitsoie’s pumpkin bread pudding (from New Native Kitchen) and Martha Stewart’s shingled brandy apple pie. Wish me luck!
Recipe adapted from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love.
- ¾ cup diced yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, stems and leaves separated and roughly chopped, divided
- 1 tablespoon + ¾ teaspoon berbere seasoning
- 1 tablespoon + ¾ teaspoon honey
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar, divided
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more, to taste
- 5 carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1½" pieces
- 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)
- 1 orange
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Combine the onion, garlic, cilantro stems, berbere seasoning, honey, tomato paste, ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper in a food processor and purée until smooth.
- Place the carrots, chickpeas, chicken and onion mixture in a 9" square baking dish.
- Remove rind from the orange. Supreme and roughly chop half of the orange; transfer to a small bowl and set aside. Squeeze the juice from the other half of the orange and add to baking dish along with ¼ cup water; toss to coat.
- Nestle the chicken, skin side up, between the carrot and chickpea mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for 40 more minutes, rotating dish halfway through, or until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add cilantro leaves, remaining 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to bowl with prepared orange. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Arrange chicken and carrot and chickpea mixture on a serving platter. Top with orange mixture.
If I don’t like really spicy things, can I just leave the berbere spice out or is there something milder I can substitute?
Hi Ann – The dish is not that spicy at all, but you can sub in another spice blend like hawaij or garam masala.