Spicy Citrus Saffron Chicken

This chicken is the flavor of cultural fusion at its best.

Fragrant saffron takes you straight to Spain while the spicy, warming ginger draws you back to a taste of Asian cuisine. Citrus notes from the orange can allude to the food of various cultures across the globe. In short, this recipe is a world tour in your mouth.

Chicken is such a versatile meat to use, and I love experimenting with exotic flavors. Saffron is especially one of my favorites. It is so unique in flavor and a little goes a long way. I love the color and aroma it adds to a dish. Such a wonderful little spice deserves a partner in crime, ginger!

Ginger brightens up any dish and I felt it would be the perfect buddy for the saffron. I had heard of orange ginger chicken and also orange saffron chicken, so I thought, why not combine the two? The results were heavenly.

Spicy and savory all in one, this is the ultimate 'winner winner chicken dinner'. Not only is it delicious, but easy to prepare as well. Toss all of the ingredients into a container and let marinade for at least two hours or overnight. When you're ready to prepare it, bake it in the oven and baste every 15 minutes. It's that simple! Get started on your flavor world tour by reading the recipe below!

Serves: 4

Prep Time:

Cook Time:

Total Time:

Ingredients

• 10 chicken legs
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• juice and zest of two large oranges
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• 1 Tbs. freshly grated ginger
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 generous pinches of saffron strands
• 1 tsp. pepper (omit for AIP)
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• optional: 1 lb. baby carrots

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large container and let marinade for at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 F and take out a 9 by 13 inch glass baking pan.
3. Pour all ingredients into the pan and place in oven for 1 hour, basting the chicken with its marinade every 15 minutes. Remove garlic clove before serving.

That's all there is to it! Enjoy this exquisite dish, I know I can't wait to make it again.

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A Spunky Inquiry:

What's your favorite cultural dish?

Paleo Orange Zucchini Bread Crumble

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Even paleo has its guilty pleasures.

This dessert is definitely one of them. The bread crumble is amazingly moist. Let's not forget the orange glaze for the top; it's addictive. I was honestly eating it by the spoonful.

If you like zucchini bread you will really appreciate this recipe. If you like oranges you will love this recipe. You may end up eating more than you should, just a warning.

Technically, if you'd like, you can leave the bread as is and pour the glaze over the top. However, with this dessert, I wanted to do something a little more fun. By making the bread into a crumble, it gives the impression of a bread pudding, trifle, and streusel all in one while still maintaining its own uniqueness. And it's so fun to create!

 In order to make the bread into a crumble, you get to allow yourself to revert back to your childhood for a moment. Let out your inner kid. Take your hands and just dig into that bread loaf and get all up in there like a toddler that got into finger paint. Use this moment to relieve some stress or to simply have a heyday. Alternatively, you could enlist the help of the nearest child. Either way, get that bread nice and crumbly!

Don't forget to douse the crumbles in the absolutely addictive glaze when you serve it. I will say once more, it is delicious. And remember, there's zucchini in here, so maybe it's not even a dessert. Maybe it's actually a salad *wink*. Dig right in and have fun with this palate pleaser. It does not disappoint.

Serves: 6 to 8

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour minutes

Total Time: 1 hour + 45 minutes

Ingredients

Bread

• 2 1/4 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 2/3 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/3 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 grated zucchini
• half of a peeled orange
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup almond or coconut milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 Tbs. coconut oil
• zest of 1 orange

Glaze

• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 Tbs. + 1 tsp. arrowroot flour
• Juice of 1 freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 Tbs. coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• zest of 1 orange

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line a bread pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
3. In a blender combine the peeled orange half, the orange zest, and all wet ingredients. Blend well.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
5. Stir in zucchini, making sure to have squeezed out as much moisture as possible first.
6. Pour the batter into the bread pan and place in the oven. While the bread is baking, prepare the glaze.
7. Combine the coconut sugar and arrowroot flour in a coffee grinder or high speed blender and blend until a fine powder texture is achieved.
8. Transfer to a bowl, add remaining glaze ingredients, and set aside.
9. Once bread is baked remove from oven and allow to slightly cool.
10. Once cool, remove bread from the pan and crumble the loaf by hand.
11. Place a serving on a plate or in a bowl and generously drizzle with glaze. If you're not serving immediately, keep the crumble and glaze separate until ready to serve.

Welcome to your next new flavor obsession. Orange and zucchini bread just go so well together. I imagine you could also convert this into a lemon recipe (yum). Get ready for some ooey-gooey goodness. Enjoy!

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A Spunky Inquiry:

Did you or someone you know every get their hands into something they shouldn't have as a kid?