One of the many things I am loving about Danielle Walkers new Eat What You Love Book is the quick, easy, sheet pan meals. When I first looked through the book this was one that I wanted to make right away. Actually let's be honest, I wanted to make the pop tarts and chocolate donuts right away, but there have been too many sweets in the house so dinner it is! Danielle has graciously allowed us to share a recipe as a sneak peek. There is still time to pre order and get the free lunch box and instapot chapters.
Because making diner with a 1 year old hanging out in the kitchen and on my leg makes things a bit more difficult, plus I dont want to be stuck in the kitchen making dinner when Chet gets home, I try to prep as much as I can through out the day. And if you dont want to prep through out the day, this will only take 15-20 minutes to get ready all at once.
Christopher was happily eating a snack so I took a few minutes to peel then chop the butternut squash and set on a tray for later. To save even more time buy them pre chopped.
After he went down for a nap I pulled the spices and put them in a little bowl so I can just dump it on the chicken and veggies when needed. And lets be honest here, nap time is when I should be doing all the things I can't do while Christopher is awake. Not today. Mama wanted a nap too. And by nap I mean I caught up on This is Us.
Paper coffee cups are super entertaining, so I let C go to town and play with that while I did some chopping. I waited until Chet got home to finish up putting it all together. But doing it this way meant I never spent more than 5 minutes at a time getting this ready to go in the oven.
The final verdict: Delicious!! We will be making this again!
I would change the way I seasoned the chicken. I apparently dont have a bowl big enough to toss the spices with the chicken and most of the seasoning ended up on the bottom of the meat and I wanted it on the skin. Instead, I would make a paste with the oil and lemon juice and just rub it on the chicken.
I also love a crispy skin and mine didnt crisp up too much so I might pull the veggies out and put the meat back under the broiler for a few minutes.
Make this! You can thank me later.
Moroccan Chicken Sheet Pan Supper
1 1/2 Cups Mixed dried fruit
2 TB dried parsley
Fine sea salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground tumeric
1/4 tsp ground ginger
4 tb extra virgin olive oil
1 tb lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, crushed
6 chicken leg quarters (drumstick and thigh)
1 large yellow onion
1 medium butternut squash, peeled halved, seeded and cut into 2-inch cubes
freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, for garnish
2 tb pomegranate seeds for garnish
Place the dried fruit into a bowl and add enough hot water to cover. Soak for 10 minutes to rehyrate the fruit. Drain water and cut fruites in half if they are large.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
In a small bowl, combine the parsley, 1 tb salt, cumin, cinnamon, paprika, cayenne, tumeric, and ginger. In a large bowl, combine 2 tb of the oil, the lemon juice, 2 cloves garlic, and 2 tb of the oil, the lemon juice and 3 tb of the spice mixture. Add the chicken pieces and toss, rubbing the chicken to coat each piece well. Arrange the chicken pieces, skin side up, on one side of the large rimmed baking sheet.
Cut the onion into 1/2 to 3/4 inch wedges, leaving some of the core attached so the slices stay intact. IN the same bowl that held the chicken, toss together the butternut squash, onion, the remaining 2 cloves garlic, the remaining 2 tb oil and the remaining spice blend. Season with the salt and pepper and toss again. Arrange the vegetable mixtures in a single layer on the other side of the baking sheet.
Roast the chicken and vegetables for 20 minutes, then carefully sprinkle the rehydrated fruits around the baking sheet. Continue to roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken leg registers 165 degrees and the butternut squash is tender about 25 minutes more.
Serve the chicken with the roasted vegetables and fruits. Sprinkle the mint leaves and pomegranate seeds over the top.
“Reprinted with permission from Danielle Walker’s Eat What You Love: Everyday Comfort Food You Crave by Danielle Walker, copyright © 2018. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.”
