Nothing is easier, faster or more worry-free than a sheet pan dinner. In this recipe, you don’t even have to stagger the ingredients to jockey the cooking times. It all cooks perfectly from the get-go.
Add a traditional or an autumnal pumpkin challah, a couscous and arugula salad, and you have a feast, nicely perked up with old-world accents of sumac and pomegranate.
This is also a perfect entree for Purim, as it uses one of Persia’s favorite ingredients, pomegranate molasses. Pomegranate molasses is readily available in Middle Eastern markets and many national chain food.. This sweet/tart syrupy liquid is just concentrated pomegranate juice and it compliments many dishes.
Ingredients
1 whole chicken cut up or 8 chicken thighs
1 medium red onion, very finely sliced
4 large sweet potatoes, cut in wedges (8-12 wedges each)
4 seedless clementines or 2 large oranges, sliced
Zest of one orange, finely minced
1 cup pomegranate juice (or sour cherry juice or cranberry juice)
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (or honey)
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt, pepper to taste (1/2 teaspoon each, approximate)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon sumac
4 teaspoons light olive oil
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses, optional
1/2 cup pomegranate arils
Minced parsley
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil around bottom and up the sides. Top with a sheet of parchment paper. Place chicken on the baking sheet and scatter on the red onions, sweet potatoes, orange zest and clementine slices.
- In a small saucepan, warm the pomegranate and orange juice over medium heat and simmer until reduced to 3/4 cup. Stir in the honey, thyme, and cinnamon and drizzle this over the chicken. In a small bowl mix olive oil and paprika and rub this on top of the chicken. Drizzle on the pomegranate molasses. Dust chicken with salt and pepper and then sprinkle the pomegranate arils all over the chicken.
- Roast for 25 minutes and then baste with pan juices and continue baking until completely done, another 25 minutes. Garnish with additional pomegranate arils as well as fresh minced parsley before serving.
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Serving Size
3-4 servings
