I love yogurt-based marinades because the resulting meat is always juicy and tender. This dish not only had a yogurt marinade, it was made on a single sheet pan and had a bright and spicy “finishing condiment” as well. A winner. 🙂
The rimmed sheet pan did accumulate a lot of pan juices, but the chicken and cauliflower were still perfectly crispy on top. The cauliflower and chickpeas absorbed a lot of wonderful flavors from the pan drippings as well.
This recipe was adapted from Bon Appétit, contributed by Kat Boytsova. I added chickpeas and served the roasted chicken, cauliflower, and beans over rice, drizzled with pan juices. We also had warm naan on the side. The lemony cilantro-onion-jalapeño finishing condiment was essential and absolutely delicious.
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
For the Chicken:
- 3″ piece ginger, peeled
- 2 cups whole-milk Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup (or more) 2% Greek yogurt, for serving (can substitute whole-milk yogurt)
- 2 lemons
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3 T garam masala, divided
- 8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 lbs)
- 2 T plus 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1 15-oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 head of jumbo cauliflower (about 3 lbs)
- 3 T vegetable oil or olive oil
For the Finishing Condiment:
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and ribbed- if desired
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
- rice and/or warm flatbread, for serving, optional
To Marinate the Chicken & Prepare the Dish:
- Place a rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 425°. (I set my oven to convection roast.) Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil.
- Finely grate 3″ piece ginger into a medium bowl. Transfer all but 1 teaspoon of the grated ginger to a large resealable plastic bag, reserving ginger in bowl for the finishing condiment. (I used a gallon-size bag.)
- Add 2 cups whole-milk yogurt to bag with ginger.
- Cut 1 lemon in half crosswise and squeeze juice from each half into the yogurt mixture.
- Add cayenne and 2 T plus 1 tsp garam masala. Seal bag and shake to combine.
- Season 8 chicken pieces with 5 tsp salt. (I placed the chicken on a plate, seasoned with half the salt, turned each piece over, and seasoned with the rest of the salt.)
- Place chicken pieces in the marinade bag, seal, and shake again to cover all the pieces.
- Squeeze out as much air as you can from the bag, which makes sure that all the chicken is covered with the marinade. Let marinate at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or keep in the fridge for up to 4 hours. (I marinated the chicken 3 hours in advance, letting it come closer to room temperature for 20 minutes or so before roasting.)
- Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Lay out on a paper towel to dry thoroughly.
- Cut 1 head of cauliflower into quarters through stem end. Place quarters cut side down and remove most of the core. The cauliflower florets should fall apart and separate naturally, but you can slice any larger florets in half or into quarters until all florets are about 2″ in size. You want the more or less evenly sized so they’re cook evenly.
- Transfer cauliflower and beans to the prepared baking sheet.
- Drizzle 3 T oil and 1 1/2 tsp salt over and toss to coat. Spread evenly all the way to edges of pan, making sure that the pieces aren’t too crowded, otherwise they’ll steam instead of roasting. (If you ended up with more cauliflower than can fit in a single layer, take some out and save it for something else.)
- Remove chicken from marinade, slightly shaking off excess. Arrange on baking sheet skin side up, nestling into cauliflower. (It’s okay if some marinade clings to the chicken, just make sure it’s not pooling in pan.)
- Roast chicken and cauliflower, turning pan halfway through and moving chicken around with tongs to ensure even browning, until chicken skin is blistered, meat is tender all the way to the bone, and cauliflower is nicely charred, 35–40 minutes. (The internal temperature should reach 165 degrees.) Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
To Make the Finishing Condiment and to Serve:
- Chop the onion, place it in a colander, and rinse it with cold water. (This removes some of the onion’s sharpness.)
- In the bowl of a food processor, finely chop the cilantro.
- Add the onion to the food processor, finely chop.
- Add onion and cilantro to the bowl with the reserved ginger (from step 2 above).
- Finely grate zest of remaining lemon into the bowl. Cut lemon in half and squeeze 1 half into the bowl; reserve remaining half for another use.
- Remove seeds and ribs from the jalapeño, if desired, finely chop. Alternatively, it can be thinly sliced into rings. Add to the bowl.
- Season with remaining 2 tsp garam masala and 3/4 tsp salt.
- Mix with a spoon to combine, taste, and add more salt and lemon juice if necessary.
- Arrange chicken, beans, and cauliflower over rice, if desired, on individual plates or on a platter. Drizzle with pan juices, as desired.
- Top with lemon condiment and serve with a dollop of yogurt or yogurt to pass at the table, as desired. (I served 2% Greek yogurt with the meal.)
thebrookcook 