Sheet Pan Saffron Chicken and Plums

brooklynsupper.com
6 servingsA simple sheet pan chicken and plums recipe featuring crispy saffron- and garlic-infused chicken topped with a sweet and savory plum pan sauce. For best results, allow chicken to sit overnight with the spice rub.
Ingredients
Chicken

• 3 pounds dark meat chicken (thighs, legs)
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• zest of 1 lemon (reserve lemon for plum sauce)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Plum Sauce

• 1 pound plums, cut into 1-inch slices
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 lemon (reserved from spice rub), quartered
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced or grated ginger root
• 1 tablespoon honey (optional***)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 6 bay leaves

Preparation

1. At least a couple hours ahead of time, but preferably the night before, make spice rub for the chicken. With a mortar and pestle, grind saffron threads, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Add garlic, lemon zest, and sea salt, and smash into a rough paste. Mix with olive oil.
   
2. Rub mixture all over chicken, making sure to coat both sides. Cover and set in the fridge 2 hours or longer.*
   
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
4. In a medium-sized bowl, toss plums with shallots, lemon, olive oil, ginger, honey, allspice, and sea salt.
   
5. Arrange chicken on an 18 x 13-inch sheet pan. Spoon plums and any juices around chicken pieces. Tuck bay leaves throughout. 

Slide into oven and roast 40 - 45 minutes, or until plums have cooked down, chicken skin is crisped, and a thermometer inserted sideways into thigh meat reads 165 degrees F.
6. Arrange chicken on a platter. Pluck lemons and bay leaves from the plum sauce and tuck around the chicken pieces. Carefully scrape plum sauce from the hot sheet pan into a bowl. Serve chicken and sauce with a side of rice or the grain of your choice.