Recipe: NOOSHEH JOON!

Persian Chicken and Greek Style Vegetables

October 8, 2021

By Cafe Bagheri

مرغ مجلسی ایرانی با سیب زمینی، لیمو و بروکلی بروش یونانی

Café Bagheri is a virtual restaurant, a way for Ben Bagheri to share his passion for food through videos, photos, livestreams, online classes, and of course recipes.

In this episode, Cafe Bagheri is combining a popular Persian (Iranian) chicken dish with Greek/Mediterranean-style roasted vegetables.

RECIPE:

[Makes six servings]

INGREDIENTS:

4 Large lemons, 2 juiced and 2 cut up into wedges
4 cloves Garlic, minced
3 lbs. (≈1500 gr) Leg quarters or 1 whole chicken
1 lb. (≈ 450 gr) New/red potatoes, cut into halves or quarters
1 Purple onion, cut into small wedges
1 lb. (≈450 gr) Broccoli or broccolini
2 tbsp Turmeric powder
3 tbsp Tomato paste
4 tbsp Saffron solution (1/2 tsp ground saffron soaked in 4 tbsp hot water for 5 minutes)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Optional – fresh oregano and thyme, chopped (or dry Italian seasoning)

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare chicken parts:

If using leg quarters, separate drumsticks from thighs.
If using whole chicken, cut into separate pieces.
Remove skin from all pieces.
Cut a few gashes on the top of each piece of chicken to allow the marinate to penetrate deeper.
Put the chicken parts into a large bowl and pour the saffron solution over the chicken. Toss to ensure all parts are coated. Let sit for 10 minutes.
In a small mixing bowl, make the marinade by adding the juice from 2 lemons, minced garlic, turmeric, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, and tomato paste. Mix thoroughly to make a paste.
Add the marinade to the bowl of chicken. Use your hands to massage the marinade into the chicken.
Add the lemon wedges and 1/3 cup olive oil to the bowl of chicken and massage to ensure the marinade and oil coat the chicken and lemons thoroughly.
Cover the bowl and let the chicken marinate for at least an hour.
You can leave the chicken out of the refrigerator if you are planning to cook it within the next hour.
If you won’t be cooking the chicken until later, you may put it in the refrigerator; just remember to remove the chicken from the refrigerator 45 minutes before cooking so it comes to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 450° Fahrenheit (convection or bake).
Toss the potatoes and purple onions with 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper and 2 tbsp of olive oil and optional fresh herbs/Italian seasoning.
Spread the potatoes and onions on a large baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.

While the potatoes and onions are cooking, prepare the broccoli:

If using broccolini, separate into florets
If using broccoli, split florets and stems to resemble the slim broccolini florets
Toss the broccoli pieces with 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper and 2 tbsp of olive oil.
When the potatoes and onions have roasted for 10 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven.
Working quickly, give the broccoli pieces one more quick toss in their bowl then place them on the potatoes and onion, spreading them evenly across the pan.
Give the chicken and lemons one more toss in the marinade, then place them on the vegetables on the baking sheet. Keep the leftover marinade to be used for basting later in the process.
Put the baking sheet back into the oven for 35 minutes.
After 35 minutes, use a silicone brush to apply a generous coating of the reserved marinade to the top and sides of the chicken pieces on the baking sheet.
Continue roasting the chicken and vegetables for another 15 minutes.
NOTE: The total time prescribed above (10+50 minutes) may be different in your oven. Check the internal temperature of the chicken when you baste it at 35 minutes. If you are at or past 165°, reduce the final 15 minutes cooking time accordingly.
Once the chicken and vegetables are done, remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.