Chicken chops with chickpeas
“There is nothing sweeter nor more life-affirming than the smell of spiced, roasting chicken. The chickpeas in this dish are like hundreds of golden beads edging in and around the chicken. When I was a child, Nonna Giuseppa and Mum called me Sango mio (my blood). Nonna and Mum may not have considered this dish traditional – the many ingredients may have amused them – but like Rembrandt’s portrait of Margaretha de Geer, I see them both facing me directly, telling me to be active, engaged and loving my chicken with chickpeas for pranzo.” — Guy Mirabella
MAKES 6-8
80 ml (1/3 cup) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
12 chicken thigh fillets, skin on, patted dry with paper towel
3 tablespoons dry white wine
2 × 425g tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
8 garlic cloves, whole, peeled
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon chilli flakes
1 red capsicum, core, membrane and seeds removed and cut into strips
small handful of flat-leaf (Italian)
parsley sprigs, chopped
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
30g salted butter, chopped into 12 pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
herby yoghurt
500g (2 cups) Greek-style yoghurt
1 garlic clove, crushed
handful of each of mint, basil, parsley,
thyme leaves and chives, torn
grated zest of 1 lemon
salt
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Use 2 tablespoons of the oil to grease a 28 × 38 cm roasting tin.
Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over a medium–high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook in batches for 8–10 minutes on each side, just until it starts to get some colour. Set the chicken aside in a bowl. Pour the wine into the hot pan and boil for about 1 minute, stirring to scrape off any bits. Take off the heat and pour the wine over the chicken.
Combine the chickpeas, garlic, turmeric, paprika, chilli flakes, capsicum, parsley and lemon zest and juice in a large bowl and mix well. Put the chickpea mixture into the roasting tin and spread over the bottom. Push the chicken into the chickpea mixture, pouring any juices over the top. Place a chunk of butter on top of each piece of chicken and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 45 minutes. Remove the roasting tin from the oven and tilt it to one corner to collect some of the juices, then spoon the juices over the chicken. Cover with foil and rest for 20 minutes.
For the herby yoghurt, mix the yoghurt with the garlic and spread it over a flat dish. Sprinkle with the herbs, lemon zest and salt and drizzle a little extra oil on top.
Present the chicken on a large dish for everyone to help themselves. Serve with herby yoghurt.
This is an edited extract from Pranzo by Guy Mirabella, Hardie Grant Books, RRP $70.
