Roast Chicken with Muhammara-Inspired Red Pepper-Walnut Purée, Oregano Fingerlings, Garlicky Kale, and Shaved Slaw with Warm Pear
Crispy roast chicken thighs over a smoky-sweet roasted red pepper and walnut purée inspired by muhammara, with golden oregano fingerling potatoes, garlicky kale, and a crunchy shaved slaw of cabbage, golden beet, and radish, topped with warm pear and toasted hazelnuts.
Yield: Serves 4 · Active: 45 min · Total: 1 hr 15 min · Best in North America from late summer into fall, when red peppers, kale, and pears overlap (use roasted red peppers in glass the rest of the year) · Best eaten: early evening
About muhammara: Muhammara is a roasted red pepper and walnut dip from Aleppo, Syria. Traditional muhammara also includes breadcrumbs and pomegranate molasses; this version keeps it grain-free, with an optional splash of pomegranate molasses.
Your Game Plan
About 1 hr 15 min out: Heat the oven to 425°F. Season the chicken. Roast the peppers if you're making your own.
About 1 hr out: The chicken goes in.
About 45 min out: The potatoes go in. Make the purée.
About 15 min out: Make the slaw and sauté the kale.
About 5 min out: Warm the pear.
Ingredients
Chicken
2½ lb pasture-raised bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Muhammara-inspired purée
2 roasted red peppers, peeled and seeded (homemade or jarred in glass)
½ cup walnuts, toasted
1 small garlic clove
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp Aleppo pepper
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Optional: 1 tsp pomegranate molasses (with no added sugar), for a tangy-sweet depth
Oregano fingerlings
1½ lb fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
2 tbsp grass-fed ghee or extra virgin olive oil
¾ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
1 tsp dried oregano, plus 1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves to finish
3 garlic cloves, smashed
Garlicky kale
1 large bunch lacinato kale, stems removed, leaves torn
1 tbsp grass-fed ghee or extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt and a squeeze of lemon
Shaved slaw with warm pear
2 cups green or Savoy cabbage, shaved thin
1 small golden beet, peeled and shaved thin
4 radishes, shaved thin
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp raw honey, and a pinch of salt
1 ripe but firm pear, cored and sliced
1 tbsp grass-fed butter
⅓ cup hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
Other vegetable ideas: Swap the slaw or kale for charred broccolini, roasted cauliflower with cumin, or roasted red onion wedges.
Method
Roast the peppers (if making your own). Char them over a gas flame or under the broiler, turning, until blackened all over, 8–10 minutes. Seal in a covered bowl for 10 minutes, then peel and seed them.
Roast the chicken. Heat the oven to 425°F. Rub the chicken with the salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, lemon zest, and olive oil, set it skin-side up on a parchment-lined pan, and roast 35–40 minutes, until the skin is crisp and it reaches 175°F.
Roast the fingerlings. Toss the potatoes with the ghee, salt, dried oregano, and garlic, spread them cut-side down on a second pan, and roast 25–30 minutes, until golden and crisp. Toss with fresh oregano.
Make the purée. Blend everything until smooth. Taste and adjust the lemon, salt, and Aleppo pepper.
Make the slaw. Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, honey, and salt, and toss with the shaved cabbage, beet, and radishes.
Sauté the kale. Warm the ghee with the garlic over medium heat for 30 seconds, then add the kale and salt and toss until just wilted. Finish with lemon.
Warm the pear. Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat and cook the pear slices 1–2 minutes per side, until golden and just warm.
Plate. Spread a generous swoosh of red pepper purée on each plate and add the chicken, fingerlings, and kale. Pile the slaw alongside, top it with the warm pear, and scatter everything with toasted hazelnuts.
Storage: Chicken, up to 4 days refrigerated; purée, up to 5 days (it's also a wonderful dip for vegetables); potatoes and kale, up to 4 days. The slaw is best dressed just before serving.
Nourishment Notes
Pasture-raised chicken — complete protein, B vitamins, and collagen from the skin.
Red peppers — vitamin C (by weight, red bell peppers have more than twice as much as oranges) and beta-carotene.
Walnuts — ALA omega-3s and polyphenols.
Fingerling potatoes — potassium, vitamin C, and B6. Cooled leftovers form resistant starch, which feeds your gut bacteria.
Kale — vitamin K, calcium, lutein, and glucosinolates.
Cabbage and radishes — glucosinolates and vitamin C, at their most potent when raw.
Golden beet — folate, nitrates, and betaxanthins.
Pear — fiber, vitamin C, and copper.
Hazelnuts — vitamin E and manganese.
For your cycle: The peppers' vitamin C helps your body absorb iron, and the raw cabbage, radish, and kale support estrogen metabolism through Phase 2 liver detoxification. The potatoes' steady carbohydrate makes this especially supportive in the luteal phase.
Sourcing
Chicken thighs — pasture-raised, from a local farm raising birds on pasture, or White Oak Pastures
Red peppers — organic, from a farmers' market in season, or organic roasted red peppers in glass
Walnuts and hazelnuts — organic, kept in the fridge; Oregon hazelnuts
Fingerlings, kale, cabbage, golden beet, radishes, pear, garlic, oregano, and lemons — organic, from a farmers' market
Aleppo pepper and cumin — organic and non-irradiated
Pomegranate molasses (optional) — made from just pomegranate juice, with no added sugar
Raw apple cider vinegar — organic, with the mother (Bragg)
Raw honey — organic, local, and unfiltered
Grass-fed butter and ghee — organic, cultured butter from 100% grass-fed cows; grass-fed ghee
Extra virgin olive oil — organic, single-estate, harvest-dated, in dark glass
Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall