← Nouns Cooking · Lebanese & Turkish

Ingredients

• 650 g boneless chicken thighs or breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp Pul biber (Aleppo-style pepper flakes)
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp Dried thyme
• 1 tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 1 Onion, sliced into half moons
• 4 cloves Garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 long green peppers (mild), cut into chunks
• 150 g button mushrooms, halved
• 1 Courgette (zucchini), sliced (optional)
• 3 Tomato, peeled and chopped
• 1 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 1 tbsp Turkish pepper paste (biber salçası) (optional)
• 150 ml Water
• ¼ Lemon, juiced

Method

1. Toss the chicken with 1 tbsp oil, the paprika, pul biber, cumin, thyme, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Heat the remaining oil in a flameproof casserole over medium heat. Cook the onion for 5 min, then add the garlic, peppers, mushrooms and courgette (if using) and cook for 5 min.
3. Stir in the tomato paste and pepper paste for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, water and chicken. Stir well.
4. Cover and bake for 35 min, then uncover and bake for 10–15 min more until the sauce is thick and the chicken reaches 75°C (165°F).
5. Serve bubbling from the pot with rice or bulgur pilaf and crusty bread.

Tips

• A traditional clay güveç pot must go into a cold oven so it does not crack.
• Some cooks melt grated kaşar or mozzarella over the top for the last 5 min.

Sources

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

Turkey’s For Life Ozlem's Turkish Table