Tonight’s menu comes from reader Jadzia81 who mentioned it in WFD comments a few weeks ago. I saw this and knew it was for me, and after several months’ diversion I’m back to my plan to learn more about middle eastern cooking. The jar of sumac from my last Penzey’s order has been waiting.
Roast Chicken with Sumac and Red Onions (Mussakhan)
from Yasmin Khan at thekitchn.com — serves 4
4 chicken legs, thighs and drumsticks separated, skin on
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1-1/2 tablespoons sumac, plus more to dust
Juice of 1 lemon
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large red onions (about 1 pound), finely sliced into half-moons
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil or any neutral oil
Naan or Arabic taboon bread, to serve
Chopped parsley leaves
- Slash the flesh of each piece of chicken diagonally a few times, around 3/4 inch apart, and then place the meat in a large bowl or plastic container.
- Mix the olive oil, spices, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and rub this into the meat. Add the red onions and toss everything together well. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 1 to 3 hours.
- When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Transfer the meat and onions to a baking pan and roast for about 35 minutes, or until the chicken juices run clear when pierced at their thickest part. Once the chicken is cooked, cover in foil and leave to rest while you prepare the toppings.
- Fry the pine nuts in the cooking oil for a minute or so, until they turn golden brown, then tip onto a paper towel to drain.
- To serve, toast the naan or taboon bread and then place the chicken and red onion on top. Finish with a smattering of pine nuts, sumac and chopped parsley. Drizzle over any remaining roasting juices so they soak into the bread, then sprinkle over a little more extra virgin olive oil.
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Now that I’ve discovered frozen Naan I’ll probably never be without some.
I like pine nuts but I didn’t find any where I usually shop, so I subbed toasted chopped walnuts for crunch.
I picked this recipe to diary before trying it, and I was not 100% happy with how it turned out. The author’s picture shows nicely browned chicken, which is not what I got. I already raised the temp from 375 to 400 but the skin did not brown. It tasted good though!
Jadzia81 accompanied this with “grated carrot and parsley salad with tahini dressing”, which also sounded great to me. No link for that recipe but it could well have been this one, also from thekitchn.com. The base ingredients are a lot like the carrot and chickpea salad I diaried before, but with completely different spices. The toasted spiced chickpeas could be used in a lot of other ways too.
Carrot Tahini Salad with Spiced Chickpeas
from Andrea Bemis at thekitchn.com — serves 6
For the spiced chickpeas:
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas or 1-1/2 cups cooked chickpeas, rinsed, drained, and patted dry
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
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Pinch of salt and pepper
For the dressing:
For the salad:
- 3 cups shredded carrots (about 1 pound)
- ½ small red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 cup fresh parsley, minced
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Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Toss the chickpeas with the oil, spices, salt, and pepper. Place on a prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven until lightly browned and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Shake the pan several times throughout baking. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. (You can do this either by hand or with an immersion blender.) Add water if the dressing is too thick. Taste and adjust seasonings if need be.
In a large salad bowl, toss the shredded carrots, onion, raisins, and parsley with the dressing. Mix well. Season with a little salt and pepper. Right before serving, top with the chickpeas and enjoy.
Note:
The chickpeas should be added to the salad right before serving to ensure they stay crispy. Save additional chickpeas in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 days.
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I was a little disappointed in this too even though I like the flavor a lot. Maybe mixing with an immersion blender would have improved the tahini dressing which I didn’t like the appearance of, it was chalky not creamy. The spiced chickpeas, for me, didn’t stay crunchy for very long after baking. Maybe I didn’t bake them long enough.
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This was for dinner on Friday so I could take pictures. I’m making roast chicken tonight, seasoned with a lot of fresh sage, and roasted brussels sprouts, and the leftover carrot salad.
What’s for dinner at your place? If you don’t want me to steal your ideas, you could write them up yourself for a future WFD.