Leek Soup – Dina Avila, Photographer

Brussels Sprouts have been the theme in our corner of the world lately. Mustardy roasted Brussels sprouts at Grain and Gristle and Brussels sprouts pizza at Oven and Shaker, twice in one week, I might add. And for some reason we want more. Earlier this week I attempted my own Brussels sprout pizza with some success. It was a melding of lingering inspiration from Oven and Shaker and adaptation from a recipe in this month’s Martha Stewart.
But that’s not what this blog post is about. This recipe was inspired by the gorgeous cookbook, Moro East of which I wrote a little about in this post.

The Brussels aren’t the star of the dish here, the chicken most definitely is, but they do stand out. I swapped the original Lebanese inspired recipe’s listing for baby onions and pine nuts for whole cloves of shallots and walnuts but changed little else. Expect for the addition of the Brussels, of course.

This dish is rustic and hearty and perfect for midwinter. Charred and tangy I would even consider going a little heavy handed with the sumac or perhaps add a generous squeeze of lemon to brighten it up.

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One Pan Roasted Chicken with Sumac and Brussels Sprouts

If you’re not familiar with sumac, it is a wonderful bright magenta and tangy spice made from

ground sumac berries commonly found in Middle Eastern recipes.

I think you could easily substitute lemon juice, but it is worth it to seek out this spice.

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4 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium chicken, preferably organic or free range, broken down into 8 pieces, skin on

6-8 whole shallot cloves, peeled

10-12 Brussels sprouts, halved or quartered if they’re large

2 tablespoons sumac

2 oz walnuts

3 tablespoons water

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Preheat your oven to 425

Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in an oven proof skillet over medium-high heat.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place them in the hot skillet, skin side down.

Brown them thoroughly  on both sides.

Remove the chicken from the pan and pour off the oil. Reduce the heat to medium.

Place the shallots and Brussels in the hot pan with a tablespoon of the sumac and the last tablespoon of olive oil.

Season with salt and pepper.

Place the chicken, skin side up, on top of the shallots and Brussels.

Sprinkle the walnuts and final tablespoon of Sumac over the chicken.

Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked and tender.

Place the chicken in a serving platter, add the water to the pan with the shallots and Brussels and give it a good stir to make a bit of a sauce.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve hot perhaps over a bed of farro with a glass of a thick old world red.