Chicken with Taklia (Coriander Seeds & Garlic Toasted in Butter) and Sautéed Spinach

Thanks to Daniel Klein’s Chilled Carrot Soup with Coriander Yogurt & Daylilies recipe, which I posted this week at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly Magazine, I am obsessed with toasted coriander seeds. The fragrance off the hot skillet is at once fresh and warm, totally sexy, everything I want now that spring is finally showing its sheepish head. (I put on a bathing suit and sat in the sun today. I almost wept for the warmth. It has a been a long Minnesota winter, friends. Brutally long.)

So after devouring the soup’s coriander yogurt garnish, leaving hardly a drizzle for the soup, I starting poking around for more toasted coriander seed ideas. I zeroed in immediately on taklia, a Middle Eastern condiment, usually comprised of toasted garlic, toasted coriander seeds, cayenne pepper, and butter. Yes, yes! Commonly the garnish for melokhia (Egyptian herb soup, although I had it first at a Lebanese restaurant), it’s also delicious on pretty much everything.

The garlic and seeds together are crunchy, and salty, and toasty-lemony-heaven. You have to try it. I have a couple of other taklia posts up my sleeve, so stay tuned…

First up, just simply sauteed chicken. I’m a (chicken) thigh girl, but John is not…so I make sure the breast at least has skin for crunch and flavor. Take the meat off the bone yourself (not difficult) or even better, ask the butcher to do it.

As I ate half the taklia right out of the pan (insert need for self control, gah), sautéed spinach with a hint of orange sounded like a just-right foil for butter, garlic, coriander, and crunchy chicken. I had leftover pickled orange marmalade from the Corner Table CSK Roast Chicken Sandwich recipe, but you could use marmalade from a jar, of course.

Chicken with Taklia (Coriander Seeds & Garlic Toasted in Butter) and Sautéed Spinach
Serves 4

2 Tbsp. coriander seeds
6 cloves garlic
salt
5 1/2 Tbsp. butter, divided (4 Tbsp. + 1 1/2 Tbsp.)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 skin-on, boneless chicken breast halves
1 lb. spinach leaves, chopped a bit if large
2 Tbsp. orange marmalade
freshly ground black pepper

Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add coriander seeds and toast until fragrant and a little brown, just a couple of minutes. Transfer seeds to a mortar & pestle and crush/grind.

Mince garlic, with a couple of generous pinches of salt, into a paste.

Return small skillet to medium heat. Add 4 Tbsp. butter to the pan and when melted, add garlic. Saute until garlic is just starting to turn golden. Stir in coriander seeds and cayenne pepper and saute for a 1-2 minutes more, until garlic is lightly golden brown. Transfer right away to a small bowl so the garlic stops cooking. Season with salt to taste and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the butter and oil. Place the chicken, skin side down, in the skillet and brown well. Turn the chicken skin-side-up and transfer the skillet to the oven. Roast for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Return the skillet to the stove top. Transfer the chicken to a platter and keep warm. Remove all but 1 Tbsp. of fat from the skillet. Heat the pan over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp. of the taklia and orange marmalade to the pan. Stir up any pan drippings, then add spinach to the pan with a little sprinkle of salt. Saute until just-wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Slice chicken breasts and serve with spinach and taklia. Store leftover taklia covered, in the fridge.