Cinnamon Chicken with Roasted Carrots, Onions, and Apricots

A one-pan, family-style roast: bone-in chicken thighs with warm cinnamon, cumin, smoked paprika, and garlic, roasted over a bed of sweet carrots, onions, and dried apricots until the skin is golden and the vegetables are soaked in savory pan juices.

Middle Eastern and North African-inspired

Yield: Serves 6 · Active: 15 min · Total: 1 hr 15 min · Year-round (especially cozy in fall and winter) · Best eaten: early evening

Ingredients

• 8 pieces pasture-raised bone-in, skin-on chicken (thighs are best, or a mix of thighs, legs, and breasts from one cut-up bird)

• 1 medium white onion, sliced

• 6–8 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on the diagonal (⅛–¼ inch)

• 8 unsulfured dried apricots (or dried plums, for deeper color), quartered

• 4 large garlic cloves, minced

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

• 1 cup chicken bone broth

• 1 tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• ¼ tsp smoked paprika

• ⅛–¼ tsp cayenne, to taste

• 1 tsp Baja Gold sea salt, plus more for the chicken

• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more for the chicken

To serve: cauliflower rice, or rice or quinoa for those who eat grains; fresh parsley or cilantro; and baba ganoush, if you like

Method

1. Prep. Heat the oven to 425°F, with a rack in the upper third.

2. Make the vegetable bed. Scatter the onion, carrots, and apricots in a large baking dish.

3. Season. Whisk the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, broth, cinnamon, cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper, and pour it over the vegetables.

4. Add the chicken. Set the chicken pieces skin-side up on top of the vegetables, brush the skin with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

5. Roast 45 minutes at 425°F, then lower the oven to 375°F and roast 15 minutes more, until the skin is golden and the thighs reach 175°F.

6. Serve over cauliflower rice or rice, spooning the pan juices and apricot-carrot mixture over everything, and finish with fresh herbs.

Next-Day Leftovers: Saffron Rice with Chicken and Olives

Serves 2

Bring 2½ cups chicken bone broth to a boil with ¼ tsp saffron threads, and let it steep. Sauté 1 tbsp diced shallot and 2 tbsp diced onion in 1 tbsp olive oil for 3 minutes, then toast 1 cup jasmine rice in the pan for 1–2 minutes. Add the saffron broth and a pinch of salt, bring it to a boil, cover, and simmer 12 minutes. Fold in 1¼ cups shredded leftover chicken, 3 tbsp chopped Castelvetrano or Kalamata olives, 1–2 tbsp diced pimientos, and a squeeze of lemon. Finish with ½ cup chopped parsley.

Storage

The chicken and vegetables keep refrigerated up to 3 days. The saffron rice keeps up to 4 days.

Nourishment Notes

Pasture-raised chicken — complete protein, B vitamins, selenium, and glycine from the skin and bones, which also keep the meat juicy and carry the spices.

Carrots and onions — beta-carotene (made more absorbable by the olive oil), quercetin, and prebiotic fibers.

Dried apricots — beta-carotene, potassium, iron, and fiber.

Cinnamon, cumin, smoked paprika, and cayenne — warming spices traditionally used to support digestion, and Ceylon cinnamon helps moderate blood sugar.

Saffron (leftovers) — crocin and safranal, studied for their effects on mood.

For your cycle: This warming, grounding one-pan meal is especially comforting in the luteal and menstrual phases, and the apricots' iron and the lemon's vitamin C work together.

Sourcing

• Chicken — pasture-raised, from a local farm or White Oak Pastures

• Carrots, onions, garlic, herbs, and lemons — organic, from a farmers' market

• Dried apricots or plums — organic and unsulfured

• Bone broth — homemade, or Bonafide Provisions (organic, sold frozen)

• Spices — organic and non-irradiated

• Saffron (leftovers) — real saffron threads from Spain (La Mancha DOP), Iran, or Afghanistan, like Rumi Spice

• Olives and pimientos — naturally cured olives; pimientos packed in glass, with no preservatives

• Extra virgin olive oil — organic, single-estate, harvest-dated, in dark glass

• Salt — Baja Gold sea salt

— Anna aka Food Marshall

</details> <details> <summary><b>Post 2: Nati's Honey-Harissa Chicken with Sprouted Brown Rice Pilaf</b></summary>

Nati's Honey-Harissa Chicken with Sprouted Brown Rice Pilaf

A spicy-sweet-tangy chicken I created for my client Nati: chicken breasts filled and glazed with honey, harissa, ginger, and lemon, seared and finished in the oven, then served over a jewel-studded sprouted brown rice pilaf with orange, pistachios, almonds, and dried fruit.

North African-inspired

Yield: Serves 6 · Active: 30 min · Total: 1 hr 15 min · Year-round · Best eaten: midday or early evening

Ingredients

Sprouted brown rice pilaf

• 4 cups chicken bone broth

• 2 cups sprouted (germinated) brown rice

• 1–1½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt

• 1 Ceylon cinnamon stick

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 tbsp grass-fed ghee

• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped

• 2 tbsp finely grated orange zest

• 1 tbsp raw honey

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp ground turmeric

• ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

• ¼ cup pistachios

• ¼ cup slivered almonds

• ¼ cup dried goji berries

• ¼ cup unsulfured sultanas (golden raisins)

• ¼ cup dried cranberries (sweetened with apple juice, not sugar)

Honey-harissa chicken

• ¼ cup raw honey

• 2 tbsp harissa paste

• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

• 1 tsp Baja Gold sea salt

• ¼ tsp ground turmeric

• ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper

• Zest and juice of 1 lemon

• 3 pasture-raised boneless chicken breasts

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Grain-free option: Serve the chicken over cauliflower rice tossed with the orange-spiced onions, nuts, dried fruit, and parsley.

Method

1. Cook the rice. Bring the broth to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan, then stir in the rice and salt, and add the cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer 25 minutes, until tender. Remove the cinnamon and bay, and drain any extra liquid.

2. Make the spiced onions. Meanwhile, melt the ghee in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion 6 minutes, until translucent. Stir in the orange zest, honey, cumin, and turmeric, and cook 2 minutes more.

3. Finish the pilaf. Stir the onions into the rice, and let it cool slightly. Fold in the parsley, pistachios, almonds, goji berries, sultanas, and cranberries.

4. Make the honey-harissa glaze. Whisk the honey, harissa, ginger, salt, turmeric, pepper, and lemon zest and juice until smooth.

5. Fill the chicken. Heat the oven to 425°F. Cut a 2-inch slit into the side of each chicken breast to form a pocket, spoon about 1 tbsp of the glaze inside, and brush the rest over the tops.

6. Sear and roast. Heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, and sear the chicken 4–5 minutes per side, until deeply golden (lower the heat if the honey starts to scorch). Move the skillet to the oven and roast 8–10 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165°F. (Or grill over medium heat, turning occasionally, until it reaches 165°F.)

7. Serve. Slice the chicken, and serve it over the warm pilaf, spooned with the pan juices.

Storage

The chicken keeps refrigerated up to 3 days, and the pilaf up to 4 days. The pilaf is even better on the second day, as the flavors meld.

A note on honey: The honey is cooked here, so it's no longer raw. Honey shouldn't be given to babies under 12 months.

Nourishment Notes

Pasture-raised chicken — complete protein, B vitamins, selenium, and niacin.

Harissa — a North African chile paste of red chiles, garlic, and spices like caraway and coriander, bringing capsaicin and vitamin C.

Sprouted brown rice — sprouting begins to break down phytic acid, so its magnesium, manganese, and B vitamins are easier to absorb.

Goji berries, sultanas, and cranberries — polyphenols, potassium, and natural sweetness.

Pistachios and almonds — vitamin E, magnesium, B6, and healthy fats.

Orange zest and lemon — vitamin C and d-limonene.

Ginger and turmeric — gingerols and curcumin, with black pepper to help your body absorb the curcumin.

Grass-fed ghee — vitamins A and K2, and butyrate.

For your cycle: The warming spices and steady carbohydrates make this grounding in the luteal phase, and ginger is well studied for easing menstrual cramps.

Sourcing

• Chicken — pasture-raised, from a local farm or White Oak Pastures

• Sprouted brown rice — organic and sprouted, like TruRoots

• Harissa paste — made with chiles, garlic, spices, and olive oil, with no seed oils or preservatives (check the label), like Mina

• Pistachios and almonds — organic, California or Sicilian pistachios; unpasteurized Spanish almonds, like Terrasoul's

• Goji berries, sultanas, and cranberries — organic and unsulfured, with cranberries sweetened with apple juice rather than sugar

• Onions, ginger, parsley, oranges, and lemons — organic (you're using the zest)

• Bone broth — homemade, or Bonafide Provisions (organic, sold frozen)

• Raw honey — organic, local, and unfiltered

• Ghee — grass-fed

• Spices — organic and non-irradiated (Ceylon cinnamon from Sri Lanka)

• Extra virgin olive oil — organic, single-estate, harvest-dated, in dark glass

• Salt — Baja Gold sea salt

— Anna aka Food Marshall