Circassian Chicken

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.