Sheet Pan Roasted Chicken with Pears
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs. skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
- To taste kosher salt and black pepper
- ½ tsp. red-pepper flakes
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. coriander
- 1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 firm, semi-ripe Bartlett or Bosc pears, cored and quartered lengthwise
- 2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds
- 2 packed cups baby arugula
- 1 lemon, halved
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Directions:
- Heat the oven to 450 F with a rack in the center.
- Pat the chicken dry and trim excess fat and skin. Sprinkle all over with 2 teaspoons salt, and season with pepper.
- In a small bowl, mix together the red pepper flakes, cumin, coriander, ginger and oil. On a sheet pan, rub the chicken and pears all over with the mixture.
- Arrange chicken skin side up and pears skin side down. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the pears are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
- During the last 5 minutes, add the sunflower seeds to the pan.
- If there’s a lot of fat when cooking is finished, tilt the pan and spoon it off until there’s a light coating on the surface of the pan.
- Scatter the arugula on top, and squeeze the juice of ½ lemon over the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with herbs, if using. Cut the remaining lemon half into quarters and serve.
