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turkish meze
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Turkish Meze: Circassian Chicken Recipe

A gently poached chicken is bathed in a paprika-laced walnut sauce. An unusual chicken salad perfect for any meze platter or appetizer. 
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time50 mins
Total Time1 hr 10 mins
Course: Appetizer, Meze
Cuisine: Turkish
Keyword: turkish meze
Servings: 12 as an appetizer
Author: Aliye Aydin - A Good Carrot

Ingredients

For the Chicken

  • 1 small onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 10 cups water
  • 8 peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 sprigs parsley
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 5 pound chicken or bone-in chicken pieces

For the Walnut Sauce

  • 3 cups walnuts
  • 4-5 slices baguette
  • cooking liquid from chicken
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspon fine sea salt

For the Paprika Oil

  • 3 Tablespoons walnut oil or extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons paprika

Instructions

To Cook Chicken

  • Roughly chop onion and carrots. Combine in a large pot with water, peppercorns, bay leaves, parsley and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Add chicken (whole is fine), and simmer for another 20-30 minutes, or until just cooked.
  • Remove from heat, let the chicken cool in the cooking liquid. Once cool enough to handle, remove the chicken meat from the bones, and shred or dice into small pieces. Place in a large bowl. Reserve the bones for another use (freezing to make more stock in the future is a great idea!). Strain cooking liquid and set aside for walnut sauce.

To Make Walnut Sauce

  • Process walnuts in food processor until finely chopped. Soak bread in a small amount of chicken cooking liquid. Add to food processor, along with garlic, paprika, coriander, and salt. Process until incorporated. Add enough cooking liquid (chicken stock) until the sauce becomes a pour-able consistency. Taste for salt, and adjust if needed. 

To Make Paprika Oil

  • Warm oil and paprika together in a small pot over medium flame.

To Assemble Dish

  • Combine walnut sauce with the chicken pieces in a large bowl, and stir to combine. Place in a serving dish, and pour paprika oil over the top. Garnish with walnut pieces, if desired.

Notes

Circassian chicken is delicious served on a slice of bread, or alongside freshly chopped veggies such as cucumber or red bell pepper.