persian seared chicken with peaches for summer

An old friend and fellow traveler stopped by for dinner, and so I turned to my newest, prettiest cookbook The New Persian Kitchen by Louisa Shafia. My mom (who has an eye for these sorts of things) picked up a copy of this gorgeous book for me and this was my first test-run of its recipes. I flipped through it, cross-referencing ingredient lists with the best that the local farmer’s market has to offer right now (see below). I wound up with a recipe for seared chicken with peaches. It is tart, sweet, savory, and highly recommended. (There aren’t tons of photos because when you’re catching up with old friends, photos are less important.)

Seared Chicken with Peaches, from Louisa Shafia’s The New Persian Kitchen

You will need:

2 pounds skinless chicken legs or breasts
Salt & pepper
5 tablespoons grapeseed oil, or, if you don’t have any around, a combination of whatever oils you have on hand (I used sesame & olive)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 pound peaches, sliced
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup lemon juice (if you’re feeling really summery and crazy toss in some lime juice too)
Zest of one lemon
2 cups of water

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a very large skillet, heat the oil till it shimmers and then sear the chicken on medium high heat – about 6-7 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.

In the same pan, saute the onions till they begin to brown, and then throw in the peaches, spices, lemon zest & juice, and water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and add the chicken back. Simmer for 30 minutes, partially covered – after 15 minutes check on it and flip the chicken pieces over to ensure they cook evenly & through. Remove and

Serve with couscous and a sharp spicy Gazan salad (recipe coming soon). I sandwiched it between a hummus/mtabbal starter and a berry & lemon cream dessert.