← Nouns Cooking · Lebanese & Turkish

Ingredients

• 450 g skinless chicken breasts
• 450 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 Onion, quartered
• 1.2 l Water
• 1 tsp Salt
• 4 slices stale white bread, crusts removed
• 200 g walnut halves
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 1 tsp Pul biber (Aleppo-style pepper flakes)
• 15 g Coriander (cilantro), chopped (or parsley)
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp paprika or more pul biber

Method

1. Put the chicken, onion, water and salt in a pot, bring to a gentle simmer and poach for 25–30 min until the chicken reaches 75°C (165°F). Lift out the chicken and keep the stock.
2. When cool enough to handle, shred the chicken into thin strands with your fingers.
3. Soak the bread in a ladle of the warm stock, then squeeze it out. Blitz the walnuts, bread, garlic and pul biber in a food processor, adding stock a few spoonfuls at a time, until you have a thick, creamy sauce like soft hummus. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Mix half the sauce and most of the coriander with the chicken, then pile it onto a platter and spread the rest of the sauce over the top.
5. Warm the oil gently with the paprika for 30 seconds, until it turns red but does not smoke, and drizzle it over. Scatter with the remaining coriander.
6. Serve at room temperature as a main with bread and salad, or as part of a meze spread.

Tips

• Contains walnuts and wheat; use gluten-free bread to make it gluten-free.
• It tastes even better the next day; let it come back to room temperature before serving.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Ozlem's Turkish Table The Mediterranean Dish