A comforting pasta bake combining tender chicken and hearty chickpeas, alongside a fresh Middle Eastern spring salad, makes for an ideal fuss-free sharing meal. The dish is designed to be prepared ahead of time, allowing hosts to enjoy time with guests rather than worrying about cooking.
For the chicken bake, mix olive oil, lemon juice, smoked and sweet paprika, cumin, salt, pepper, and oregano. Marinate skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs with a third of the mixture, and toss the remaining with sliced onions, bell peppers, garlic, and cherry tomatoes. Spread the vegetables in a deep oven dish, top with chicken skin-side up, season, and roast at 220C (200C fan) for 30 minutes until crisp. Remove chicken, stir red pepper and tomato paste into hot chicken stock, pour over vegetables, add pasta and chickpeas, then return chicken on top. Cook for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, and garnish with parsley and almonds.
The accompanying salad features Lebanese cucumber, little gem lettuce, radishes, peas, and herbs, topped with tangy sumac pickled shallots. For the pickled shallots, combine sliced shallot, sumac, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and water, and leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes. Shave cucumber into ribbons, quarter the lettuce, and toss with herbs, radishes, peas, spring onions, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, and pickling liquid. Arrange lettuce on a platter, top with dressed vegetables, and finish with pickled shallots.
