Za’atar chicken with pilaf, flat bread and green harissa

Well hello again my friends! After my last post, where I taught you something quick to make, I thought I’d share something which would be more of a usual for me (but more timely) recipe. As I mentioned before my time in the kitchen is my therapy! This dish, while a ‘little’ time consuming, will throw a party in your mouth and I promise you that!

I wondered whether I should write some food for thought but who needs it when you have this in front of you! So give this beautiful Middle Eastern flavoured chicken a go and as usual I look forward to your comments, messages etc. Much love xx

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For chicken:

• 2 heads of garlic, top cut off to expose the cloves
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp fresh or dried rosemary leaves, chopped
• 1 fresh chile, seeded and finely chopped
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (or orange)
• 1 whole chicken
• Za’atar spice blend (recipe follows)

For Za’atar spice blend:

• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp ground sumac
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Combine all the ingredients. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

For flat breads:

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 1/2 tbsp milk
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup plain yoghurt

For pilaf: 

• 1 tsp butter
• ¹⁄₂cup finely chopped onion
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3-4 whole cloves
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
• Salt/pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup raisins

For green harissa:

• 1 cup coriander (cilantro) leaves
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 fresh chillies (seeded for milder flavour)
• 1 small bunch spinach, stemmed and chopped
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Combine the ingredients in a food processor and refrigerate until serving.

Preparation:

I start this dish the night before because it has to marinate overnight.

For chicken: 

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). Drizzle the garlic heads with oil. Wrap in foil, and bake for about 45 min, or until tender. Let those cool.

Butterfly the chicken by removing the backbone and opening the chicken. (You can get your butcher to do this, if you’ve never done this before, although its pretty easy). I usually remove the backbone with a pair of strong kitchen scissors by cutting along each side of the backbone. Place the chicken inside down on a board or a plate and press on it to flatten it.

Squeeze the garlic out of the skins and mash with the 4 tbsp of softened butter. Combine with 1/4 cup olive oil, rosemary, chile, and lemon zest. Loosen the skin all over the chicken by gently putting your fingers under the skin and moving it around. Rub the butter mixture onto the meat under the skin. Do this gently as you don’t want to break the skin. Pierce the chicken with 2 metal skewers, diagonally through the leg breast and wing to help keep it flattened. Cover and let the chicken stand for an hour or overnight in the fridge.

I cooked this chicken on a charcoal barbecue, so if you are confident to do so, go ahead, if not, cook it on a gas barbecue or the oven at 180C (250F).

Sprinkle the chicken with half of the Za’atar mix. Roast it until the skin is crispy and juices run clear. The timing of this will be different for your chosen method, but usually around 1.5 hours. Let the chicken rest once it’s cooked for about 15 minutes, then cut into quarters.

For pilaf: 

Preheat a deep pan on medium heat. Melt butter in the pan. Fold in onions and stir well. Add in the carrot. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the onions and carrots are softened but not browned.

Add cumin, turmeric, cloves, paprika and cayenne pepper. Stir in the rice so it’s all evenly coated.

Stir in hot stock (it should be at the boiling temperature) and raisins. Cover the pot with a lid and let pilaf cook until rice is just under al dente. Turn off the heat and let it stand for 10 minutes or so. Fluff with a fork before serving. Add salt/pepper if needed.

For flat breads:

Once the chicken is ready (whether you are using a barbecue or an oven) you can cook these breads.

Mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl.

In a small saucepan heat milk together with butter until melted. You can also do this in a microwave. Let the milk cool down slightly.

In a big bowl add yoghurt and stir in warm (not hot!) milk until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon, until the ingredients come together.

Knead the dough until soft. Cover and let it rest for at least 1/2 hour at room temperature.

Split dough in 8 equal parts, form each of them into a ball, flatten with your fingers and then roll out into a disk, flipping it over occasionally. Sprinkle with flour now and then. Your bread should be about 10 cm in diameter more or less ( don’t worry about getting it perfect).

Pick up the bread, remove excess flour by slapping the dough between your hands and put it on the barbecue (or into the oven). Cook until bubbles have formed on top and the bottom side gets lightly coloured. Then flip, and cook until done, about 1 minute.

Serve the chicken with pilaf, flat breads, green harissa and a sprinkle of za’atar spice. Enjoy and be proud of all the effort you put in!