Jason Goodwin’s Winning Ottoman Chicken
The other night (originally I posted this in November 2019), I went to the Yeovil Literary festival to hear Jason Goodwin talk about the colourful life of his mother, Jocasta Innes and promote her book. He was engaging to the extent that I ended up buying his book over his mother’s. Perhaps I couldn’t persuade myself to buy the book of someone who left her children when they were very little, but took the dog; anyone who knows me knows how much I adore my dogs, but I can’t imagine taking them without my children!
So tonight we had our neighbour over and indulged in this most mouth watering chicken which makes me immediately want to entertain and share with friends. For pudding I made what I think is the only pudding recipe in the book, Poppy seed cake, the recipe for which will soon follow. I feel inspired, ready to delve into these recipes and discover a new world of the Ottoman Empire on which he bases his novels.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
8 chicken thighs or drumsticks
50g unsalted butter
3 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, sliced
500ml chicken stock
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
salt
1 tsp cumin
Ground black pepper
250g toasted ground walnuts
5 tbsp pomegranate molasses
Pomegranate seeds
Parsley
Heat half the butter in a large pan, with half the olive oil
Season the chicken pieces and brown them in the butter and oil over a high heat.
When they are golden brown, remove them and set aside in a bowl.
Add the remaining butter and oil and turn the heat down to medium.
Fry the onions until translucent and a little coloured.
Re introduce the chicken to the onion pan and add the stock.
Simmer for half an hour.
Now stir in the remainng ingredients.
Simmer, covered, for an hour.
Serve with pomegranate seeds an parsley, alongside plain rice and salad.
