Sheet Pan Chicken with Baharat

This sheet pan (or tray pan in the other parts of the world) dinner is a one pan wonder. Crisp skinned thighs cooked with sweet carrots, onions and sliced bell pepper…all flavored with the aromatic spice mix called baharat. It’s a blend commonly used in N. Africa and the Middle East. The mix I used was purchased from the Oaktown Spice Shop, a blend of paprika, black pepper, cumin, coriander, allspice, cassia, clove, cardamom and nutmeg. Baharad is the Arabic word for spices.

If you would like to make your own, this recipe comes from the cookbook Jerusalem by Ottolenghi.

Note: Ottolenghi and Tamimi recommend using a spice grinder for this recipe “and for plenty of other occasions.” But “if you are using a mortar and pestle, you may want to get ground cardamom, as the pods will be hard to grind by hand.”

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 small cinnamon stick, coarsely chopped

½ teaspoon whole cloves

½ teaspoon ground allspice

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon cardamom seeds

½ whole nutmeg, grated

1. Place all the spices in a spice grinder or mortar and grind until a fine powder is formed. Store in an airtight container, where it will keep for 8 weeks.

Baharat Rubbed Sheet Pan Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 to 2 pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or legs
• 1 pound of carrots, halved (and quartered if thicker than 1 inch) see note
• 1 medium red onion, quartered
• 1 to 2 red or yellow bell peppers, cut into 1 inch strips
• 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons of baharat
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1/4 cup of pine nuts, briefly toasted in a small dry skillet
• fresh parsley, mint or cilantro – chopped
• about 1/2 cup of labne or Greek yogurt

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Combine the olive oil, salt and baharat in a large bowl – stir to combine
3. Add the chicken, carrots, peppers and onions to the bowl and toss to combine. I find my hands are the easiest way to coat everything
4. Place the chicken skin side up on the sheet pan, nestle the rest of the ingredients (cut sides down as much as possible) around them.
5. Roast for about 40 minutes until the chicken skin is very crisp and a kitchen thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 160 degrees F. You could turn the vegetables half way through but I didn’t bother.
6. Spread the labne or yogurt onto a section of a serving dish or platter. place the chicken and vegetables on top. Garnish with toasted pine nuts and fresh herbs.

Note: If you would like to leave the carrots in larger chunks, parboil them for 5 minutes before add to the bowl. Also, other root vegetables would also be good such as small Yukon gold potatoes, parsnips, or turnips.

Sheet Pan Chicken with Baharat

Sheet Pan Chicken with Baharat

Sheet Pan Chicken with Baharat

I am taking this easy sheet pan dinner to share with the folks at Fiesta Friday. It’s #396, hosted by Angie. Please click on the link to read other posts about cooking, crafting and meal planning. Please consider adding your own link but read the guidelines if you would like to be considered for featured post of the week.