Herb, Garlic, and Chili Stuffed Chicken Thighs

Source: Reem Kassis The Arabesque Table 

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

1 ½ tsp salt

1 Tbsp olive oil

For he Stuffing:

6 cloves garlic, crushed

3 fresh red chilies, finely diced

2 jalapeno peppers, finely diced

½ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped (see Note)

¼ cup walnut pieces, finely chopped

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

For assembly:

1 lb potatoes, cut into wedges

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Prepare the chicken

Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and trim off any straggly bits. Sprinkle all over with the salt. Drizzle with the olive oil, rub all around, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes adn up to overnight. Preheat the oven to 425 deg F.

Make the stuffing

In a bowl, combine the garlic, both chilies, the cilantro, walnuts, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, salt, and black pepper, and mix to combine.

Gently loosen the skin from the thigh meat with your fingers to make a pocket, but make sure the skin is still connected to the meat. Divide the stuffing evenly amoung the thighs and place it in the pocket between the skin and the meat, pulling the skin so it covers the chicken and stuffing.

To assemble

Put the potato wedges in a 9×13 inch roasting pan and sprinkle lightly with salt. Nestle the thighs between the potato wedges and use any dripping or remaining oil to rub on the potato wedges. Top everything with a few twists of pepper.

Transfer to the oven and roast until the meat is cooked through, the skin is crisp to your liking, and the potatoes are crisped and browned, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Let rest for 5 minutes, then transfer to a platter or individual plates and serve.

Notes

You can replace the cilantro with 2 Tbsp crushed dried herbs, such as za’atar, oregano, marjoram, thyme, dill, etc. If you do, reduce the salt in the stuffing to ¼ tsp.