This weekend brought us some extremely saddening and eye-opening moments as we stood and listened to Nala Scott, a Junior at Westfield High School, talk about the racist remarks and actions she has had to endure throughout her childhood in our predominantly white town. It was so encouraging to see around 2,500 members of our community come out to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement. This is going to be a long fight, but we feel the ball is finally gaining momentum.
We hope you have also had the possibility to reflect and talk about racism this past week. As we’ve been doing, we would love to encourage you to gather your family around your table to have open and difficult discussions, to listen, and to educate. Let’s keep this vital conversation going!
We’ve been struggling with what to post this week as it all seems so inconsequential. But we all need to eat, and good food brings people together, that’s what gather & be is about. We will continue to support diverse bloggers on this platform and if you have suggestions for some fab accounts for us to follow and to learn from, please let us know! In the meantime, this One Pot Chicken and Cannellini Bean dish won’t take up too much valuable time. It takes minutes to put together and the oven does the rest. A green salad and some crusty bread will round off this dish and makes wonderful leftovers. xoxo Kirsty
Ingredients - serves 3-4 and is easily doubled
1 pound (452g) boneless chicken thighs, preferably skin on
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon za’atar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, sliced
1/2 cup white wine or chicken stock
1 can 13.5oz (380g) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
a few sprigs of thyme
Preheat the oven to 375F (190C).
Season the chicken on all sides with salt, pepper and za’atar.
In a large pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and brown the chicken on 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan, set aside and cover.
Turn down the heat to medium-low and sauté the onions for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add the wine or stock to deglaze the pan, stir and scrape to incorporate all the caramelized bits. Add the chicken back to the pan with all the juices, along with the beans and thyme. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the internal temperature of the chicken measures 165F (74C). Serve with a large green salad and a crusty loaf of bread to mop up all the juices.