# Roasted Chicken with Red Onion and Dates, Sunchokes, and Tahini-Dressed Broccoli and Cauliflower > Crisp-skinned chicken roasts with red onion and dates until the pan juices turn savory and gently sweet. Alongside, deeply browned sunchokes and charred broccoli and cauliflower get lemony tahini, bright green zhug, and a little red-chile shatta—a generous autumn dinner with plenty of heat and contrast. - URL: https://www.chezjk.com/recipes/roasted-chicken-with-red-onion-and-dates-sunchokes-and-tahini-dressed-broccoli-a - Author: Jonathan Katzman - Cooked and photographed: 2026-11-03 - Recipe updated: 2026-11-04 - Serves: 4 servings - Tags: gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free, nut-free ![Roasted Chicken with Red Onion and Dates, Sunchokes, and Tahini-Dressed Broccoli and Cauliflower](https://www.chezjk.com/api/images?path=9e5d6860-dd86-455e-b57b-e352c363fc57%2Fa0af1ad6f76551ad.jpg) ## Roasted Chicken with Red Onion and Dates Onion wedges soften in the chicken juices while dates add sweetness without making a sticky glaze. Adding the dates partway through protects them from burning as the skin crisps. ### Ingredients - 4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, about 2½–3 pounds total - 2 medium red onions, cut into ¾-inch wedges with a little root attached - 8 Medjool dates, pitted and halved - 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil - 4 cloves garlic, lightly crushed - 1 teaspoon ground cumin - 1 teaspoon ground coriander - 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt - ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper - ¼ cup water, plus more if needed - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice - ¼ cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley ### Instructions 1. Heat the oven to 425°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Pat the chicken very dry. Rub with 1 tablespoon olive oil, the cumin, coriander, pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt, working some seasoning beneath the skin. 2. Toss the onions and garlic with the remaining olive oil and salt in a shallow roasting pan. Arrange the chicken skin-side up among the onions, keeping the skin uncovered. Pour the water into the bottom of the pan. 3. Roast for 20 minutes. Turn the onion wedges, tuck the dates into the juices between the chicken pieces, and return to the oven. Add a splash of water if the pan is drying out. 4. Roast another 20–30 minutes, until the skin is deeply golden and the thickest part of each thigh registers 175–185°F without touching bone. If needed, broil briefly while watching closely to avoid scorching the dates. 5. Transfer the chicken to a warm platter and rest for 10–15 minutes. Stir the lemon juice into the onions, dates, and pan juices. If the juices are watery, reduce them briefly on the stovetop in a suitable pan. 6. Spoon the onions, dates, and juices around—not over—the crisp skin. Scatter with parsley just before serving. ### Notes - For crisper skin, season the chicken with its allotted salt and refrigerate uncovered for 4–24 hours before roasting. ## Roasted Sunchokes Large cut surfaces brown deeply while the centers become creamy. Tahini and sharp shatta balance the sunchokes' earthy sweetness. ### Ingredients - 1¼ pounds sunchokes - 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil - ½ teaspoon fine sea salt - ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper - 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice ### Instructions 1. Scrub the sunchokes thoroughly, trim damaged spots, and dry well; leave the skins on. Cut into roughly 1-inch chunks, halving smaller pieces lengthwise. 2. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a metal sheet pan in one layer with the broad cut faces down. 3. Roast at 425°F for 35–45 minutes, turning after about 25 minutes, until deeply browned and easily pierced with a knife. 4. Toss with lemon juice while hot. Serve with some of the lemon-tahini sauce and shatta, keeping enough exposed surface for the browned edges to stay crisp. ### Notes - Sunchokes can be difficult to digest in large portions; this recipe keeps them to a modest side serving. ## Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower Dry vegetables, generous spacing, and high heat produce charred tips rather than steamed florets. A shared roasting pan keeps the two vegetables a cohesive side. ### Ingredients - ¾ pound broccoli, cut into large florets with tender stems attached - ¾ pound golden or white cauliflower, cut into 1½-inch florets - 2½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil - ½ teaspoon fine sea salt - ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper - 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice ### Instructions 1. Dry the vegetables thoroughly. Peel any tough broccoli stems and slice them into ½-inch pieces. 2. Toss the broccoli and cauliflower with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a large sheet pan with flat surfaces against the metal and space between pieces. 3. Roast at 425°F for 22–30 minutes, turning once, until the cauliflower is tender with browned edges and the broccoli has dark, crisp tips. Remove any broccoli pieces that finish early. 4. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Transfer to a serving dish and finish with lemon-tahini sauce and small spoonfuls of zhug. ### Notes - Use two pans if the vegetables will not fit in a single uncrowded layer. ## Lemon-Tahini Sauce Lemon and cold water turn sesame paste into a light, pourable sauce. One batch ties both vegetable sides together without masking their roasted flavor. ### Ingredients - ½ cup well-stirred tahini - 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice - 1 small clove garlic, finely grated - ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt - ⅓–½ cup cold water ### Instructions 1. Whisk the tahini with the lemon juice, garlic, and salt. It will initially become thick and stiff. 2. Whisk in the water a little at a time until smooth, pale, and loose enough to fall from a spoon in a ribbon. 3. Taste and adjust with a little more salt or lemon as needed. Reserve roughly one-third for the sunchokes and the remainder for the broccoli and cauliflower. ### Notes - Tahini varies in thickness; use the consistency rather than the exact water quantity as your guide. Whisk in more water if it thickens while standing. ## Green Zhug Coarsely chopped herbs, green chile, and warm spices give the roasted brassicas a fresh, spicy counterpoint. Pulsing rather than puréeing preserves texture. ### Ingredients - 1 packed cup cilantro leaves and tender stems - ½ packed cup flat-leaf parsley leaves - 1–2 serrano chiles, stems removed - 1 clove garlic, chopped - ½ teaspoon ground cumin - ¼ teaspoon ground coriander - ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom - ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice - 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil ### Instructions 1. Roughly chop the herbs and chiles. For milder zhug, remove the chile seeds and membranes. 2. Pulse the herbs, chiles, garlic, spices, and salt in a small food processor until finely chopped but not smooth. 3. Pulse in the lemon juice and olive oil just until combined. Taste for salt and acidity, then let stand for 10 minutes before serving. ### Notes - This makes about ½ cup; serve extra at the table rather than covering the vegetables heavily. ## Quick Red Shatta A coarse red-chile relish brings concentrated heat and vinegar acidity to the rich sunchokes and tahini. A short rest softens the raw chile flavor. ### Ingredients - 3 ounces fresh red Fresno chiles, stems removed - ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt - 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar - 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil ### Instructions 1. Finely chop the chiles by hand or pulse briefly in a small food processor, keeping some texture. 2. Mix with the salt and vinegar and let stand for 20 minutes. 3. Stir in the olive oil. Serve in small dabs over the tahini-dressed sunchokes, with the remainder alongside. ### Notes - Use gloves when handling chiles. Removing some seeds and membranes will moderate the heat. - Prepared shatta can replace this quick version; choose one without gluten-containing additives or added refined sugar to retain the listed dietary tags. ## Overall Timing / Workflow The chicken and sunchokes share the oven first; the brassicas roast as the chicken finishes and rests. Making the sauces during roasting keeps the final assembly quick. ### Instructions 1. 0:00 — Heat the oven to 425°F. Prepare and season the chicken, onions, and sunchokes. 2. 0:20 — Put the chicken on the upper rack and the sunchokes on the lower rack, leaving room for air to circulate. 3. 0:20–0:40 — Make the shatta, lemon-tahini sauce, and zhug. Cut and season the broccoli and cauliflower. 4. 0:40 — Add the dates to the chicken pan. Turn the sunchokes as needed and rotate both pans front to back. 5. 0:55–1:05 — Remove the sunchokes when tender and browned. Put the broccoli and cauliflower in their place. Begin checking the chicken temperature. 6. 1:00–1:10 — Remove the finished chicken and rest it. Move the brassicas to the upper rack to finish browning. Finish the chicken pan juices. 7. 1:20–1:30 — If needed, return the sunchokes to the oven for 3–5 minutes. Dress the hot vegetables, plate the chicken, and serve. ### Notes - This schedule assumes two oven racks and two pans at a time. Use temperature and texture cues over the clock, especially with large chicken thighs. ## Plating Keeping the vegetables in separate groups preserves their distinct sauces and textures. Pan juices stay around the chicken so its skin remains crisp. ### Instructions 1. Place one chicken thigh on each warm plate, with red onion wedges, dates, and a spoonful of pan juices alongside. 2. Add a compact pile of sunchokes and a separate pile of broccoli and cauliflower. 3. Drizzle both vegetable sides lightly with tahini sauce. Add shatta to the sunchokes and small spoonfuls of zhug to the brassicas. 4. Finish the chicken and onions with the parsley, leaving patches of browned skin and crisp vegetable edges exposed. Pass the remaining sauces at the table. ## Leftover Path Storing the sauces separately makes it possible to reheat the roasted food without dulling the herbs or drying out the tahini. ### Instructions 1. Refrigerate the chicken, onions, dates, and cooked vegetables within 2 hours in shallow covered containers. Use within 3–4 days. 2. Refrigerate the tahini sauce, zhug, and quick shatta separately and use within 3–4 days. Treat the quick shatta as a fresh relish, not a shelf-stable preserve. 3. Reheat chicken with its onions, dates, and a splash of water at 350°F until the center reaches 165°F. Uncover near the end to help the skin crisp. 4. Reheat unsauced vegetables on a sheet pan at 425°F for 8–12 minutes. Add tahini and chile sauces after reheating. 5. Alternatively, shred the chicken and serve with chopped roasted vegetables, parsley, and the remaining sauces as a warm next-day salad. --- From ChezJK (https://www.chezjk.com), Jonathan Katzman's public home-cooking archive: every meal he has photographed, written up as a recipe you can cook.