Hummus and broiled chicken ‘n’ peppers
Condé Nast’s Gourmet sadly ceased publication in October 2009, but there is one dish from the magazine that I have tweaked and have made ever since: a sheet pan delight that sees peppers, onions and chunks of chicken thigh broiled to succulence with crispy, charred edges that is sure to please.
The defining feature of the dish, however, is a sort of sauce that forms when you add hummus to the hot mixture: the chickpea condiment evolves into a creamy, rich and luxuriant-tasting component that binds the other ingredients — and adds huge flavour.
I don’t recall the exact ingredients and methods from the magazine, but here is how the dish comes together for me: cut boneless chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces; cut onions and your choice of peppers into similar-sized pieces; toss the mixture in salt and pepper, olive oil and seasonings like cumin, coriander, perhaps paprika, and any other spices that inspire a sort of shawarma/kebab taste profile for you.
Distribute the ingredients evenly over a sheet pan and broil on an upper oven rack until cooked. A couple of stirs and re-arrangement of the ingredients ensures that they are cooked evenly.
Pull the pan and spread a generous amount of hummus in the bottom of a bowl and add the chicken-peppers-onion combo on top. Drizzle it with a few glugs of good olive oil and perhaps garnish with some sumac, as I’ve done here. Let the dish rest for just a few moments so the hummus begins to “melt.”
Despite the rising cost of proteins like chicken, I figure with some economical shopping you can cook up this dish for a few bucks a bowl. It’s superb and takes only minutes to prepare and cook.
Enjoy!
