Musakhan (Sumac Chicken with Onions on Flatbread)
Inspired by techniques from Yotam Ottolenghi, NYT Cooking and Serious Eats.
Chicken is marinated in sumac and warm spices, roasted until deep golden, then piled onto crisped flatbreads with soft sumac onions, toasted pine nuts and parsley.
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Method
- 1
Marinate the chicken. Mix half the oil with 2 tbsp of the sumac, the allspice, cumin, cinnamon, garlic, lemon juice, ¾ tsp of salt and the pepper, then rub it all over the chicken. Marinate in the fridge for 1-3 hours, or overnight if you have the time, so the spices properly flavour the meat rather than just sitting on the surface. About 20 minutes before roasting, heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan).
- 2
Roast the chicken. Roast the chicken skin-up in the tin for 40-45 minutes, until deep golden and the thigh meat reaches 80°C.
- 3
Soften the onions. While the chicken roasts, cook the sliced onions in the remaining oil with ¼ tsp of salt over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring now and then, until completely soft and pale golden. Don't let them caramelise or go dark: they should stay sweet and silky. Stir in the remaining sumac once they're done, so its flavour stays bright.
- 4
Toast the pine nuts. In a dry pan, toast the pine nuts over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan often, until golden. Keep a close eye on them, as pine nuts burn very quickly once they start to colour.
- 5
Crisp the flatbreads. With the oven raised to 220°C (200°C fan), brush the flatbreads with the roasting juices or onion oil, spread over the sumac onions, and bake on trays for 5-7 minutes until the edges turn crisp.
- 6
Assemble and serve. Top each flatbread with chicken, either left whole or pulled from the bone, and spoon over any remaining roasting juices. Finish with the toasted pine nuts, parsley and an extra scattering of sumac.
Storage
Keep the chicken and onions in the fridge separately from the bread for up to 3 days. Reheat the chicken and onions until piping hot (74°C) and crisp the bread briefly in the oven before assembling again, rather than freezing the assembled dish. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Equipment
- large bowl
- roasting tin
- large frying pan (28-30 cm)
- 2 baking trays
- instant-read thermometer
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 974 kcal |
| Protein | 43.1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 69.2 g |
| of which sugars | 9 g |
| of which free sugars | 1.2 g |
| Fat | 59.7 g |
| of which saturates | 12.3 g |
| Fibre | 7.3 g |
| Salt | 2.95 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
4.4 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
