Silan-glazed chicken thighs with roasted sweet potatoes and tahini

Name: Silan-glazed chicken thighs with roasted sweet potatoes and tahini
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Israeli and Mediterranean
Ingredients: 400 g Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot) (4 skinless boneless chicken thighs, 100 g each, opened out flat by the kosher butcher; no more than 2 cm thick); 600 g Sweet potatoes (2 medium sweet potatoes (≈ 600 g bought, 500 g peeled); discard the peel); 120 g Red onions (1 medium onion); 35 g Extra virgin olive oil (3½ tbsp: 15 g for the marinade, 20 g for the vegetables); 25 g Silan (date syrup) (1 generous tbsp date syrup); 10 g Garlic (2 cloves); 4 g Smoked paprika (1½ tsp: 1 tsp in the marinade, ½ tsp on the vegetables); 1 g Ground cumin (½ tsp); 180 g Lemon (1½ lemons: the finely grated zest of half a lemon (about 2 g), the juice of the whole lemon (about 50 g: 15 g for the marinade, 15 g for the tahini sauce and 20 g to finish), and the remaining half lemon cut into 2 wedges to serve; discard the peel and pips); 0.5 g Ground black pepper (2 pinches); 6.5 g Fine salt (1 heaped tsp: 4 g on the vegetables, 1.5 g in the marinade and 1 g in the tahini sauce; kosher chicken has already been salted during koshering, so salt it lightly, rather than leaving it unsalted); 40 g Tahini (raw sesame paste) (2½ tbsp tahini paste made from 100% sesame, stirred thoroughly in the jar); 40 g Water (cold, for the tahini sauce; plus an extra 2 tbsp tap water only if the tray juices darken (step 5)); 8 g Sesame seeds (1 level tbsp, raw: they will toast on the glaze in the oven); 12 g Flat-leaf parsley (½ small bunch, leaves washed and dried); 1 g Fleur de sel (2 pinches, to serve)

meat main dish · Israeli and Mediterranean · 1/5 · very easy · 70 min, including 25 hands-on

An Israeli family favourite: boneless chicken thighs marinated in date syrup, smoked paprika and lemon, glazed in a hot oven alongside roasted sweet potatoes, with a drizzle of tahini sauce and sesame seeds toasted on the glaze.

Ingredients for two

400 g	Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot) 4 skinless boneless chicken thighs, 100 g each, opened out flat by the kosher butcher; no more than 2 cm thick
600 g	Sweet potatoes 2 medium sweet potatoes (≈ 600 g bought, 500 g peeled); discard the peel
120 g	Red onions 1 medium onion
35 g	Extra virgin olive oil 3½ tbsp: 15 g for the marinade, 20 g for the vegetables
25 g	Silan (date syrup) 1 generous tbsp date syrup
10 g	Garlic 2 cloves
4 g	Smoked paprika 1½ tsp: 1 tsp in the marinade, ½ tsp on the vegetables
1 g	Ground cumin ½ tsp
180 g	Lemon 1½ lemons: the finely grated zest of half a lemon (about 2 g), the juice of the whole lemon (about 50 g: 15 g for the marinade, 15 g for the tahini sauce and 20 g to finish), and the remaining half lemon cut into 2 wedges to serve; discard the peel and pips
0.5 g	Ground black pepper 2 pinches
6.5 g	Fine salt 1 heaped tsp: 4 g on the vegetables, 1.5 g in the marinade and 1 g in the tahini sauce; kosher chicken has already been salted during koshering, so salt it lightly, rather than leaving it unsalted
40 g	Tahini (raw sesame paste) 2½ tbsp tahini paste made from 100% sesame, stirred thoroughly in the jar
40 g	Water cold, for the tahini sauce; plus an extra 2 tbsp tap water only if the tray juices darken (step 5)
8 g	Sesame seeds 1 level tbsp, raw: they will toast on the glaze in the oven
12 g	Flat-leaf parsley ½ small bunch, leaves washed and dried
1 g	Fleur de sel 2 pinches, to serve (optional)

Method

Make the marinade: finely grate the garlic and the zest of half a lemon into a medium mixing bowl. Then squeeze the whole lemon into a glass (about 50 g of juice). Add the silan, 15 g olive oil, 1 tsp smoked paprika, the cumin, 1.5 g salt, a pinch of pepper and 15 g lemon juice to the bowl and mix. Turn the chicken thighs in the marinade until thoroughly coated, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 12 hours. Reserve the remaining lemon juice.
While the chicken marinates, preheat the oven to 220°C fan, with a shelf in the centre. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 2.5 cm cubes. Peel the red onion and cut into 6 wedges, leaving a little of the root end intact to hold them together.
In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to toss the sweet potatoes and onion with 20 g oil, 4 g salt, ½ tsp smoked paprika and a pinch of pepper. Spread in a single layer without overlapping on the rimmed baking tray lined with baking paper. Roast uncovered for 15 minutes: the cubes will start to colour underneath.
Meanwhile, make the tahini sauce: mix the tahini, 15 g lemon juice and 1 g salt in a bowl, then gradually pour in the 40 g cold water, whisking with a fork. It will thicken at first, then become smooth, pale and pourable, with the coating consistency of single cream.
Take the tray out, turn the vegetables with a spatula and move them aside to make room. Lay the chicken thighs flat on the paper, between the vegetables rather than on top, leaving space between them, and pour over any marinade left in the bowl. Roast uncovered for 20 minutes: the edges of the chicken will brown and the marinade will become sticky and glossy. Check halfway through: if the juices on the paper are darkening too much and starting to blacken, pour 2 tbsp water onto the paper around the chicken, not over it.
Spoon the tray juices over the chicken, sprinkle with the sesame seeds and return to the oven for 3 minutes: the silan will form a glossy brown glaze and the sesame seeds will turn lightly golden on top. The chicken is cooked when the juices from the largest piece run clear when pierced with a knife and the centre is no longer pink (80°C at the centre if using a probe thermometer); the tip of a knife should slide into a sweet potato cube without resistance.
Out of the oven, drizzle the remaining lemon juice (about 20 g) over the chicken and vegetables. Roughly chop the parsley. Arrange half the sweet potatoes and onion on each plate, top with 2 chicken thighs, drizzle with tahini sauce and scatter over parsley and a pinch of fleur de sel on the sweet potatoes. Add a lemon wedge alongside. Serve the remaining tahini sauce at the table.

Variants and their steps remain below the recipe.

Lighter version

Extra virgin olive oil : 25 g
Sweet potatoes : 420 g
Tahini (raw sesame paste) : 25 g
Water : 25 g
Fine salt : 7.5 g
add Cauliflower 300 g (one-third of a cauliflower, cut into small florets)

Use 10 g oil in the marinade (step 1) and 15 g on the vegetables (step 3).

In step 3, use only about 350 g peeled sweet potato; add the cauliflower florets to the mixing bowl with an extra 1 g salt, coat thoroughly by hand and spread everything in a single layer, using two trays if necessary.

In step 4, make the tahini sauce with 25 g tahini and 25 g water, for a lighter drizzle.

Less oil, sweet potato and tahini, and more roasted vegetables: the silan glaze and tahini sauce remain.

On your plate

Recipe

837 kcal · protein 49 g · carbs 64 g · fat 40 g

Quantities per person

200 g Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot)
300 g Sweet potatoes
60 g Red onions
17.5 g Extra virgin olive oil
12.5 g Silan (date syrup)
5 g Garlic
2 g Smoked paprika
0.5 g Ground cumin
90 g Lemon
0.25 g Ground black pepper
3.25 g Fine salt
20 g Tahini (raw sesame paste)
20 g Water
4 g Sesame seeds
6 g Flat-leaf parsley
0.5 g Fleur de sel

Cooking tips

For convenience, marinate the chicken in the fridge in the morning (or the day before): it will taste all the better, and all that remains in the evening is to cut the sweet potatoes. Never cover the tray or crowd the vegetables: dry heat is what sets the silan glaze and browns the sweet potatoes. Use two trays if yours is small. Baking paper is essential, as caramelised silan sticks to metal. You can use half parsley and half coriander. Make a little extra on Friday: the dish can be eaten warm on Saturday, with the tahini sauce served separately. Reheat leftovers for 10 minutes at 180°C, or eat them warm in a pitta with the tahini sauce.

Equipment : oven, 35 × 30 cm rimmed baking tray and baking paper, one medium and one large mixing bowl, bowl and fork, peeler, knife and chopping board, fine grater and citrus juicer, spatula

An Israeli home-cooking classic: boneless chicken thighs glazed with date syrup and roasted in the oven.

Silan-glazed chicken thighs with roasted sweet potatoes and tahini

Method

Timer

On your plate

Recipe

Cooking tips

Explore this cuisine

Starters to serve with this dish

Three recipes to try next

Comments and reviews

Share your experience