Garlicky Za’atar Chicken & Chickpeas with Herb Pesto, Chili Oil and Tahini

Ingredients

• For the chicken:
• 3 lbs chicken pieces (about 8 pieces), I prefer thighs with skin on
• 1 cup dry white wine, such as fume blanc or chardonnay
• Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper
• ½ cup Olive oil
• 10 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1-2 T Za’atar (or a mix of dried thyme and oregano)
• For the chickpeas:
• 2 x 400 g cans Chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved, divided
• Olive oil for the pan
• Herb Pesto:
• ¾ cup/30 g chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves and stems
• ¾ cup/30 g chopped fresh parsley, leaves and stems
• ¾ cup/30 g chopped fresh chives
• 3 T Olive oil
• 3 T Lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted, then roughly crushed or 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chili oil
• 5 T Olive oil (or a blend of olive oil and a neutral oil)
• 1 t red-pepper flakes
• ½ t sweet paprika
• Salt and pepper
• Tahini Sauce
• 1/3 cup/80 g tahini
• 1/3 cup/80 g yogurt
• 2 T lemon juice
• Sea salt

Instructions

1. Start with the chicken:
2. Put the chicken pieces in a large bowl and add the wine, turning to moisten all the pieces. Set aside to marinate 10 minutes. Remove the pieces from the bowl to a plate, reserving the wine. Season the pieces on both sides with salt and pepper.
3. In a heavy bottom pot with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces, starting skin side down and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 25 minutes. Adjust heat as necessary.
4. While the chicken is cooking, blend, grate or pound the garlic into a paste and add to the reserved wine.
5. One the chicken is browned, remove the pot from the heat and add the wine and garlic mixture along with the za'atar (or other dried herbs). Stir to coat the chicken pieces. Return to low heat, cover with a lid and gently simmer until liquid is reduced to a syrupy sauce and the chicken is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
6. For the chickpeas:
7. Make the chili oil:
8. Combine the oil and chili flakes in a small pot. Heat over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until gently simmering and the mixture starts to smell fragrant. Remove from heat, add the paprika and set aside to infuse.
9. Make the herb pesto:
10. Put all the ingredients for the pesto in the bowl of a food processor along with 2/3 cup/100 g of chickpeas. Blend to make a smooth paste. Set aside.
11. Make the tahini sauce:
12. Stir all the ingredients together in a small bowl, season to taste. If you think the sauce is too thick, add water to thin it out.
13. To finish:
14. Heat 2 T of Olive oil in a wide skillet. Add the remaining chickpeas and cook, stirring frequently until chickpeas start to sizzle. Add the herb pesto, ¾ cup of the reserved liquid and half the chili oil - mix well to combine. Season with salt and pepper. If you think the mixture is too dry, add more of the reserved chickpea liquid – but not too much, the sauce should be thick and slightly syrupy, not soupy. Simmer on low so that the whole mixture is heated through, about 5 minutes.
15. Spoon the chickpeas onto a large platter with a lip. Arrange the chicken on top. Drizzle with some of the tahini sauce and the remaining chile oil. Serve warm accompanied by the extra tahini and some fresh pita bread or a crusty baguette.