Name: Circassian Chicken
Yield: serves 6-8
Ingredients: 6 parsley stalks – bruised; ½ teaspoon salt; 2 small onions – peeled and coarsely chopped, plus 2 teaspoons finely chopped peeled onion; 2 tablespoons bland oil mixed with 1 teaspoon paprika; 1 teaspoon black peppercorns; ½ teaspoon paprika; big sprig fresh thyme; 8 oz shelled walnuts; 2 cloves garlic – peeled and minced; few twists freshly ground black pepper; 2 carrots – peeled and coarsely sliced; 6 chicken thighs; 2 bay leaves; ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparation info

serves
6-8

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Independent Cook

By Jeremy Round

Published 1988

About

Be careful when making this Middle Eastern chicken with nut paste – a tiny step up the evolutionary scale from the tarator sauce; just one rancid walnut can turn the whole thing inedibly bitter. Of course, you can use chicken meat from anywhere on the bird but I think just thighs, the leg minus the drumstick, gives the dish a silkier texture and fuller flavour. Some butchers and supermarkets sell packs of thighs.