Roasted Chicken with Creamy Walnut Sauce

Ingredients

• 8chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1/2 tsppaprika
• 2 tbspolive oil, 1 tbsp for chicken, 1 tbsp for sauce
• 6pitta bread, 1 torn for sauce, 5 toasted to serve
• 150 mlchicken stock, some for soaking pitta, rest for blending sauce
• 175 gwalnuts, most for sauce, a few roughly chopped for garnish
• 1onion, chopped
• 2 clovegarlic, chopped
• 50 mllight cream
• 1lemon, juice only
• coriander, stirred through sauce

Method

1. 1

   Heat oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. In a roasting tin, toss the chicken thighs with cumin, paprika, 1 tbsp olive oil and seasoning. Roast for 40 minutes until crisp and cooked through.

2. 2

   Tear up 1 pitta bread and place in a small bowl. Pour over a couple of tbsp of chicken stock and leave to soak.

3. 3

   Dry-fry the walnuts in a frying pan for about 3 minutes until golden and toasted. Set aside.

4. 4

   Heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in the pan and cook the onion and garlic until softened.

5. 5

   Place the soaked pitta, onion mixture and most of the walnuts into a blender. Pour over the remaining chicken stock and blitz to a rough paste. Return to the pan. Add the cream and lemon juice, season and keep warm.

6. 6

   Arrange the roasted chicken on a platter. Stir the coriander through the sauce and spoon into a bowl. Roughly chop the remaining walnuts and scatter over the chicken.

7. 7

   Toast the remaining pittas, cut into wedges and serve alongside the chicken and sauce.