To welcome in the fall season, Susan Barron takes the liberty of “borrowing” from the New York Times what looks to me like a “scrumptiously” simple recipe for us to enjoy.

SHEET- PAN ROASTED CHICKEN WITH PEARS AND ARUGULA

By Yasmin Fahr

Yield:  4 servings

Time:  40 minutes

Ingredients:

6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (2 ½ to 3 pounds)

Kosher salt and black pepper

½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger from a 2-inch piece

2 firm, semi-ripe Bartlett or Bosc pears, cored and quartered lengthwise

2 tablespoons raw, unsalted sunflower seeds

2 packed cups baby arugula

1 lemon, halved

¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped (optional)

Preparation

1.      Heat oven to 450 degrees with rack in the center.

2.     Pat chicken dry and trim excess fat and skin.  Sprinkle all over with 2 teaspoons salt, and season with pepper.  In a small bowl, mix together the red-pepper flakes, cumin, coriander, ginger and oil.  On a sheet pan, rub the chicken and pears all over with the mixture.  Arrange the chicken skin-side up and pears, skin-side down.  Cook until chicken is cooked through (165 degrees at the thickest part) and the pears, tender, 25 to 30 minutes.  During the last 5 minutes, add the sunflower seeds to the pan.  If there’s a lot of fat when finished cooking, tilt the pan and spoon it off until there’s a light coating on the surface of the pan.

3.     Scatter the arugula on top, and squeeze the juice of ½ lemon over the pan.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Top with herbs, if using.  Cut remaining lemon half in quarters to serve.