Shawarma Spiced Chicken Thighs - So much flavor!

Chicken thighs marinated in wildly flavorful shawarma spices and served with a light and simple couscous is a perfect marriage of Middle Eastern flavors with North African ingredients. When fusion works magic happens! You can swap out any number of ingredients in this dish. Tiny potatoes, cauliflower, throw in a chopped up preserved lemon, a few dried apricots, or a handful of pistachios. Or all! Here we added in a handful of frozen peas to pop the color and a little extra flavor.

Braised Shawarma Marinated Chicken Thighs

Yields: 4 servings

 Ingredients:

4-6 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on (about 2 lbs.)

3 tablespoons shawarma spice blend, brand of your choice

Zest and juice from 1 lemon

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 cup low sodium chicken stock

2 cups small cauliflower florets

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 350°

Procedure:

1.     Combine the shawarma spice blend, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, garlic, cilantro, salt, and pepper into a large mixing bowl. 

2.     On each chicken thigh, trim any excess fat and expose the thigh bone by making incisions on both sides of the bone. This will allow the marinade to penetrate the meat and also cook the chicken thighs more quickly. Place the thighs in the marinade and using your hands, rub the marinade all over. Marinate for 30 minutes - 1 hour.

3.     Heat the vegetable oil in a deep 10 to 12-inch lidded heavy-bottomed skillet or braiser over medium-high heat and cook the chicken thighs, skin side down, undisturbed, until browned, about 10 minutes.  Once browned, transfer to a plate and save the remaining marinade. 

4.     In the same pan, reduce the heat to medium and add the shallots and cook until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add in the chicken stock, the reserved marinade, caulflower, and tomatoes.  Bring to a simmer, and using a wooden spoon, scape up any bits left on the bottom of the pan.   

5.   Nestle the chicken things into the pan, skin side up, cover with lid and place in the oven for

      about 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through with an internal temperature of 165°. The

      cauliflower should be soft and the tomatoes lightly broken down. After removing the chicken

      from the cooking liquid, taste and season with a pinch of salt if needed. Spoon some of the

      sauce around the chicken and vegetables.