Got a fantastic dinner for you with these one-pan crispy saffron chicken thighs w/barberries and pigeon peas. This is a very simple chicken and rice dish with gorgeous flavors that can all be prepared in one pan. This is easy. It's one pan. It's delicious. So let's do it.
What is saffron?
Beautiful red saffron threads come from the crocus sativas flower and are considered one of the most precious spices in the world. The red threads actually create a beautiful golden color which has a floral, earthy flavor. Actually, a lot of people have a hard time describing the flavor of saffron. The smell is unique and distinct - the flavor, subtle. It's commonly used in paella's, risotto and Indian biryani. It's frequently used in Persian cooking to make Persian rice, tahdig, fesenjoon and many other incredible dishes.
Iran is the largest producer of saffron in the world and its considered some of the best saffron in the world as well. Afghanistan and India are also well-known for the their high quality saffron as are Greece and Spain. I have Persian friends so I always have incredible saffron in my house and I am so grateful for that. 🙂
How to make saffron water
There are a few different ways to make saffron water and many chefs definitely have their preferences. Some insist you place the threads (or ground threads) on top of ice cubes and let it melt. Others say room temperature water is fine. And still others, say warm water is the best. It can also be added to hot water if using in a stew. I usually use either room temperature water or warm water. Both work.
You can choose to grind the saffron threads into a powder and then add water or add a few pinches of threads to the water. I recently found (though who knows how you lose a heavy, marble mortar & pestle?!) my marble mortar & pestle so I decided to grind my saffron threads down first. It's simple:
- Measure out your saffron threads using measuring spoons and add to your mortar (the bowl part) and grind it using the pestle.
- Add water to the mortar and stir once or twice. Then let it steep.
- If you don't have a mortar and pestle, no worries. You can use the back of a spoon in a small round ramekin instead.
- Let it steep a good 15-20 minutes before using.
How to trim the fat from chicken thighs
I understand a lot of people prefer white meat to dark meat - I mean, I'm baffled by it, but I understand. There is a lot of fat in chicken thighs, but there is also waaaay more flavor. A while back, I made a very easy tutorial on how to trim the fat from chicken thighs. If you have time, the video is below and the blog post contains some writted instructions as well. You can use that technique to trim the fat on the chicken for this recipe. All you need is a decent pair of kitchen shears.
What are pigeon peas? (hint: they are not actually a pea)
The name is weird. Why call something a pea that's actually a legume? Pigeon peas, aka gandules, are a high protein member of the bean family. They have a slight nutty flavor and are excellent to add to rice dishes like this one, soups, Indian dal and you can also eat like you would edamame - add a little salt and eat right from the bowl. I love using pigeon peas when I am making beef and cheese empanadas and my yummy shepherd's pie my way
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How to crisp the skin on chicken thighs
If you want them crispy, it's so easy. Even though the chicken thighs have the skin on, I don't rely only on their fat to get them crispy. I heated some olive oil in a pan first, got it hot, then added the chicken SKIN SIDE DOWN. The secret is to leave them alone and don't touch them for seven minutes. You'll see them browning around the edges and at the seven-minute mark turn them over and cook one more minute. That's it. Oh, and when you add the boiling water to the pan before transferring to the oven - leave the skin exposed (no water on them!) so they continue to crispy up in the oven.
Easy steps to making one-pan crispy saffron chicken thighs
Crispy Saffron Chicken Thighs w/Barberries & Pigeon Peas
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Description
Golden, aromatic saffron brings these crispy saffron chicken thighs with barberries and pigeon peas to life. Easy to make – all in one pan!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup saffron water (½ teaspoon saffron threads, ¼ cup warm water)
- 6 large chicken thighs (bone-in, skin on, fat trimmed)
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic, finely diced (1 medium/large clove)
- 1 cup onion, finely diced (approx. 1 medium onion)
- 1 can pigeon peas (15-ounce can)
- 4-5 tablespoons barberries or currants
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 2 ½ cups water (boiled)
- Fresh chopped parsley, optional garnish
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Instructions
- Rinse the rice at the beginning of the process so it’s ready to go when you need it. I usually wash it 3-4 times until the water runs clear. Drain water and set aside.
- Add 2 ½ cups water to a small pot. Plan your time here with bringing it to a boil. You’ll need it boiling by the time you’re putting the pan in the oven to cook everything. Add salt to the water (about 1 ½ teaspoons) and let dissolve before adding water to the pan.
- Measure the saffron and add to a mortar or small ramekin if you don’t have a mortar and pestle. Grind the saffron with the pestle or back of a spoon if that’s what you have. Add warm water and mix a couple times with a spoon. Let the saffron steep in the water for 15-20 minutes.
- Trim fat from chicken thighs. If you need help with this, I have a great tutorial video on how to trim the fat from chicken thighs. Video posted above in blog post as well. Start with the obvious flaps of fat around the edges. We are leaving the skin covering the outside, but trimming the excess fat. Trim any fat underneath the thighs as well. There’s a lot of fat under there.
- Once all the fat is trimmed, season both sides with salt and pepper and set aside for a few minutes. I like to let the salt absorb into the chicken a bit.
- After the saffron water has steeped, transfer chicken to a large bowl, skin side down, and fork the thighs (poking little holes in them). Then add 3-4 tablespoons of the saffron water to the chicken. Rub the thighs around the bowl to coat in the saffron. Then turn them so they are skin-side up. Let marinate for 10-15 minutes while you finish the prep.
- Finely dice one large clove of garlic. Should get about 1 ½ teaspoons of garlic from that.
- Dice one medium onion – a smaller dice works better for this.
- Open the can of pigeon peas, add water to rinse the peas a bit then drain water.
- If you are using the barberries for this, put them in a small sauté pan with a few tablespoons of water and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Barberries are naturally very tart. Heat on low until the barberries soften a little and taste them for sweetness. If you want them a little sweeter add a little more sugar. Should take maybe 5 minutes. You can do this while the chicken is cooking. If you are not using the barberries, you can skip this step and just add the currants to the rice when it comes out of the oven.
- Heat olive oil in a large pan (big enough to fit 6 chicken thighs) until it’s hot and cook chicken thighs in pan SKIN SIDE DOWN for 7 minutes on medium to high heat. Don’t touch them. Turn and cook one more minute then remove from pan briefly. Skin should be crispy.
- There should be enough olive oil and a little chicken fat in the pan to cook the onions. Add them to the pan and stir a couple of minutes, then add the pigeon peas and garlic. Stir a couple of minutes on medium heat.
- Water should be boiling by now.
- Add the raw basmati rice to the pan with pigeon peas and cook for a minute or two. Spread evenly across the pan.
- Add five pieces of chicken to the top of the rice, leave center open to add the boiling water right before going in the oven. Add the last chicken thigh to the center. Add butter and a few pinches of saffron.
- Cook in preheated oven at 425 degrees for about 35-40 minutes uncovered. Yes, uncovered. We want to keep the skin crispy this needs to be cooked uncovered.
- Once out of the oven, I removed the chicken and transferred the rice to a large mixing bowl. Add the barberries here and toss to mix. With the extra saffron water, you can transfer a couple of cups of the cooked rice to a smaller bowl, toss with extra saffron water – a tablespoon or so. This will give you a slightly brighter yellow layer of rice you can add to the top of the remaining rice.
- Place the rice on a serving plate or platter, then spoon the additional brighter yellow rice on top. Place chicken pieces on top of the rice and serve immediately.
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