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
• 2/3 cupchicken stock, some for soaking pitta, rest for blending sauce
• 1 1/2 cupswalnuts, most for sauce, a few roughly chopped for garnish
• 1onion, chopped
• 2 clovegarlic, chopped
• 3 1/2 tbsplight cream
• 1lemon, juice only
• coriander, stirred through sauce

Method

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 400°F/350°F fan/gas 6. Toss the chicken thighs in a roasting pan with the cumin, paprika, 1 tbsp of the olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper, then spread them out skin side up.

2. 2

   Roast for 40 minutes, until the skin has crisped and the juices run clear at the bone.

3. 3

   Meanwhile, tear one pitta into pieces in a small bowl and pour a couple of tablespoons of the chicken stock over it. Leave it to go soft.

4. 4

   Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes, shaking often, until they smell nutty and take on a little color. Tip them straight out of the pan.

5. 5

   Add the rest of the olive oil to the same pan and cook the onion and garlic gently until soft and sweet.

6. 6

   Put the soaked pitta, the onion and garlic and most of the walnuts into a blender with the remaining stock and blitz to a coarse paste. Return it to the pan, stir in the cream and lemon juice, season, and hold it over the lowest heat.

7. 7

   Pile the chicken onto a platter. Stir the coriander through the sauce and spoon it into a bowl, then chop the last of the walnuts and scatter them over the chicken.

8. 8

   Toast the remaining pittas, cut them into wedges and bring everything to the table at once, so people can tear, dip and pile as they like.