Eat: Pair this crispy panroasted chicken with a creamy cilantro sauce and coconut rice.
Crispy, cool, bright and creamy all at once, this easy-to-prepare chicken dinner features coriander two ways. The chicken is first dusted with ground coriander, then nestled in a creamy sauce made with fresh coriander, which is simply cilantro. Same plant, different names.
Adding feta cheese to the dressing provides both a complex saltiness as well as body. It’s an effective shortcut to transform any kind of vinaigrette into a creamy version of itself. Mound your choice of salad greens and vegetables alongside the chicken to complete the dish. Because the creamy coriander sauce serves double duty as both a sauce for the chicken and a dressing for the salad, you can skip the step of dressing the salad separately.
This sauce is so versatile and delicious, we suggest making extra. You’ll have no problem coming up with additional ways to use it. This dish is especially tasty served with hot, fragrant coconut rice, but plain rice or a grain of your choice works too — or you can skip the carbs for a lighter meal. Leftovers (chicken, sauce and veggies) would be great in a wrap for lunch the next day.
Crispy Pan-roasted Chicken with Creamy Coriander Sauce
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
6 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Baby greens, sliced cucumber and tomato (or your favorite salad vegetables) Sauce:
2 cups fresh coriander (cilantro)
2 ounces feta cheese (about ½ cup crumbled)
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or more to taste
1⁄3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1teaspoon honey, or more to taste ½ teaspoon kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
Heat the oven to 350degrees. Toss the chicken pieces with the olive oil, coriander and cumin to coat, then sprinkle each piece with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat an oven-safe skillet or cast-iron pan on the stove. Place the pieces skin-side down and let the chicken cook over medium heat, undisturbed, for about 15minutes until the skin is very crisp and deep golden. You do not want to move the chicken around too much, but you can take a peek a few times as it cooks to check the color underneath.
Flip the chicken pieces so that the skin side is up and transfer the pan to the oven for an additional 15 minutes or until cooked through. (A meat thermometer inserted into the center of the meat should register 165 degrees.) Meanwhile, start making the sauce. In a blender or food processor, puree the fresh coriander, feta, lime juice, olive oil, water, honey and salt. Taste and adjust to your preference, and thin it with a little water as needed. (This recipe makes about 1cup of sauce.) Serve by spooning about ¼ cup of sauce onto each plate or shallow bowl and arrange the chicken and salad on top.