Baked Chicken and Chickpeas Recipe
I made the baked chicken and chickpeas recipe inspired by one recipe I saw online. It was labeled as a Moroccan dish, but after researching, I couldn't find many sources that had this specific recipe. The ones I did find had quite different ingredients. In short, the recipe didn’t really convince me that it was an authentic Moroccan dish. So, I decided to create a new recipe by adjusting the ingredients to my own taste, independent of the ones I found.
Nevertheless, I will still label it as Moroccan cuisine. Maybe it truly is a Moroccan dish. I used chicken thighs, but you could also use drumsticks. I had pre-cooked the chickpeas halfway beforehand. If you've been following me for a while, you know that I always have boiled chickpeas ready in my freezer. Recently, I've started keeping two types of boiled chickpeas.
One is the classic, fully boiled chickpeas ready to use, and the other is half-boiled chickpeas. I use the half-boiled chickpeas in recipes where the chickpeas need to cook a bit more in the dish, like this one. You can also use these chickpeas in a traditional chickpea stew. That way, the chickpeas will simmer with the onion and tomato paste for a while, and the cooking time is much shorter.
I used hot pepper paste to add some heat to the dish. If you don't have any, you can use sweet pepper paste and add a teaspoon of chili flakes for the spice.
You can also squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the dish when serving. The dish has a slightly spicy, mildly seasoned, and rich flavor, but it’s not quite like a full curry, more like a spiced chicken with chickpeas. If you're getting tired of traditional chickpea stew, you can throw in a twist with this recipe.
You can serve it with plain rice and a side of yogurt drink (ayran) or salad.
Enjoy the recipe...
Baked Chicken and Chickpeas Recipe with Video
Ingredients
- 2 chicken thighs,
- 2 cups parboiled chickpeas,
- 1 onion,
- 1 clove garlic,
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste,
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper paste,
- 1 teaspoon cumin,
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika,
- 1 teaspoon thyme,
- 5 tablespoons olive oil,
- 2 cups hot water,
- Salt.
Preparation
- Heat the olive oil in an oven-safe pan,
- Brown the chicken on both sides in the pan and set aside,
- Add the chopped onion and minced garlic to the same pan and sauté until softened,
- Stir in the tomato and pepper pastes and cook until fragrant,
- Add the cumin, paprika, and thyme, and mix well,
- Add the chickpeas, water, and salt, and stir,
- Place the chicken back in the pan and spoon the sauce over the top,
- Cover with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (390°F) for about 35 minutes.
Enjoy your meal!