Arabesque Stuffed Chicken with Potatoes

Yay, another month means another Cookbook Club selection! For August, we have The Arabesque Table, by Reem Kassis. This was another we weren’t able to get our hands from the library, but did find a few options published online to get us a taste of this book. This dish is pretty easy to bring together, but seems a little elevated. A nice one-pot option too!

Arabesque Stuffed Chicken with Potatoes

(Adapted from The Arabesque Table, by Reem Kassis)

Ingredients: 

• 4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
• Salt & pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 red bell peppers, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup walnut pieces, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cumin
• 1/2 tsp za’atar
• 4 small (but not baby) potatoes, sliced into wedges

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Trim the chicken thighs of any excess skin and fat. Season with salt & pepper and then drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil. Rub it in with your fingers. Refrigerate while making the stuffing.
3. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients minus the potatoes. (Could also do this in a food processor.) The results should be like a chunky paste in consistency.
4. Using your fingers, loosen the skin from the chicken, taking care to not dis-attach it entirely. You want points of connection to hold the stuffing in. Stuff the pepper mixture under the skin, dividing evenly amongst the chicken thighs.
5. Place the chicken thighs in a large, glass baking dish. Nestle the potato wedges around and in between the chicken pieces. Drizzle the entire dish with the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil and season with additional fresh ground black pepper.
6. Roast for 45 minutes. At this point, remove from the oven, baste with the juice from the pan, and return to the oven for just another few minutes if need be. (Chicken should be served at an internal temperature 165 degrees.)
7. Serve with the pan juices overtop.

Serves 4