Gazientep Chicken by Ana Sortun

In 1997, I was working at Harvard Square’s Casablanca restaurant, cooking Mediterranean food mostly inspired by my travels to Italy, Spain and the south of France.  One evening I met Ayfer Unsal who was visiting Cambridge and dining with my boss. She invited me to visit Turkey and to study the cuisine from her hometown, Gazientep.  When I thought about going to Turkey, I imagined genies and flying carpets.  I had no idea.

It’s the memory of an incredible “potluck style” lunch that she and 30 of her friends prepared for me, and that changed my work forever.  Since that moment, I took an interest and began to study Turkish ingredients, spices, recipes and techniques.   A few  years later, I opened  Oleana in 2001 to bring these flavors into the Boston mainstream and to expand the city’s perception of Mediterranean cuisine.

Recently, I was flipping through my notes from that first trip to Gaziantep in 1998.  There were very rough notes on a dish with tahini and dried fruits and a marinade with pepper paste and onions. I adapted these notes in the following recipe, to re-create a dish that works for both special occasions and everyday meals.

I hope you will enjoy it.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breast halves
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Grated onion (half a white onion)
• 2 ½ teaspoons baharat spice mix (see recipe below)
• 1 teaspoon of tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon water
• 2 tablespoons of pistachios
• 2 tablespoons of pine nuts
• 4 tablespoons dried currants or sour cherries
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons yogurt
• 2 tablespoons tahini

Method

1. Mix onion with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons baharat, tomato paste and water.  Pour over chicken breasts and stir to coat.  Let stand for 20 minutes.
2. Pre-heat oven to 350°F/180°C.
3. Bake chicken on a baking sheet for 8-12 minutes depending on the size of the chicken.
4. Meanwhile, finely chop the pistachio and pinenuts.  Fry them gently in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until light brown and just barely toasted (about 4 minutes).  Stir in garlic, and continue to cook for another minute.  Remove from the heat and stir in currants or cherries.
5. Blend yogurt, tahini and remaining tablespoon of olive oil to form a smooth sauce.  Season with salt to taste.
6. Slice chicken and top with the tahini sauce and nut mixture.

Baharat Spice Mix

Makes 1 cup

• 3 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 4 teaspoons dried mint, crushed through a sieve
• 4 teaspoons ground black pepper