Sumac Roasted Chicken
Bright sumac balances this comforting and complex one-pan roasted chicken dish. Shawarma East features delicious nutty cumin, warm nutmeg, peppery allspice, and the complex floral finish of rose petals. The dish comes complete with sweet, caramelized red onion and marinated chicken roasted on a bed of thinly sliced potato to soak up every drop of flavor. Marinating the chicken 1-3 days in advance really makes the outcome very moist.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken cut into 10 pieces (or 3-4 pounds of bone in skin on chicken thigh)
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2 tsp fine sea salt
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1 tsp ground black pepper
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2 Tbsp sumac
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2 Tbsp Shawarma East
- 2 Tbsp olive oil (for marinating the chicken)
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- 2 Tbsp olive oil (for searing the chicken)
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- 2 cup red onion, sliced ¼” thick
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½ tsp fine sea salt
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1 Tbsp Shawarma East
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- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes, sliced ¼” thick (about 3 potatoes)
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1 tsp fine sea salt
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½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp roughly chopped parsley
Directions
Toss the chicken, salt, black pepper, sumac, Shawarma East, and olive oil to coat the chicken well. Marinate ideally overnight (and up to 3 days). If you don’t have time, go ahead and season the chicken and move on to the next step.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a heavy bottom skillet, heat the pan until very hot (the oil should be rippling) and sear the chicken, skin side down, until golden brown and crispy on the edges. Give the flesh side a quick sear too and remove the pieces as they are ready.
Add the red onion to the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until softened and starting to caramelize on the edges. When ready, add the Shawarma East and stir well to combine. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside.
Place the pan back onto the stove over high heat and heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Lay half of the potatoes slices into the bottom of the pan and sprinkle with half of the salt and black pepper.
- Layer the remaining slices of potato in the pan and season with the remaining salt and black pepper. Make sure the potaotes make an even layer and slide a spatula along the side of the potatoes to check that they are not sticking and starting to turn golden brown.
- Add the red onions on top of the potatoes in an even layer.
- Arrange the chicken pieces on top, skin side up and move the pan to the oven.
- Roast for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked, rotating the pan halfway through cooking.
When ready, remove the pan from the oven and finish with fresh lemon juice and parsley. The potatoes should be tender and golden brown and full of the flavor and drippings from the cooking.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Note
Recipe Notes
This recipe has a really great technique that is flexible for so many blends and alternations. You could season the chicken with Tangier and layer on slices of Tunisian Lemon instead of the caramelized red onion. Another fun version would be to add slices of raw plum tomato on top of the potatoes (instead of the onion) and season the chicken with Jersey Italian or Izak. Try your favorites and let us know how they turn out!
Questions? Contact helen@laboiteny.com
