Sunday 9 August 2020

Baked Chicken With Sumac And Red Onions AKA Mussakhan

Yep, here we have another recipe from Zaitoun by Yasmin Khan.  Am I a bit obsessed?  Who? Me?  Maybe (she shrugs nonchalantly).  I've always loved Middle Eastern dishes, and this one is a corker.  Apparently, it is seen as the Palestinian signature dish.  And I can see why.  The taste lingers in your mouth, and the spices linger in your kitchen.    

One of my fave cookbooks is The Complete Middle East Cookbook by Tess Mallos, which I've had for a looooonnnggg time.  She has a recipe for this, using two whole chickens.  But this is easier, and quicker.  And oh my, so very tasty!  I've made a few small changes to Yasmin's recipe, which pleased the Pickings' palates :-)  I decided to add the hummus and pomegranate molasses, and to use boneless pieces of chicken.  (Mr P. hates bones!) 



dollop on some hummus


Serves 4:


ingredients:


1 kg (2.2 lb) chicken pieces - I used skinless, boneless thigh fillets

3 tbs EV olive oil

1/2 tsp ground cummin

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1½ tbs sumac

juice of 1 lemon - about 50 mL/1.7 fl oz

4 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped finely

1½ tsp sea salt and ¼ tsp ground black pepper

2 large red onions (about 500g/8 oz), finely sliced into half moons

2 tbs pine nuts

1 tbs olive oil to fry the pine nuts

one piece of naan bread per person

a dusting of extra sumac when serving

fresh parsley chopped, for serving

a splash of EV olive oil when serving

hummus, to serve - optional

a splash of pomegranate molasses, to serve - optional


Method:


Place the chicken pieces in a non-reactive baking dish (I used an enamel one) 

Pour on the olive oil, and sprinkle on the spices - cummin, allspice, cinnamon and sumac

Then on goes the lemon juice, the garlic, salt and pepper, and the onions 

Mix well together with your hands, cover the dish with alfoil, and put the whole shebang into the fridge from 1 to 3 hours

Take off the foil and put the dish into a 190C/380F oven for about 50 minutes

Check it at 45 mins., then keep baking for up to 1 hour and 5 mins.

Toast the pine nuts in the extra 1 tbs EVOO for a minute or 2 till golden (don't look away! - so easy to burn 'em - hmm, cough, cough), then drain on kitchen paper

Put the naan on a baking tray and shove into the oven (at 190C) for about 5 mins. to warm up

Give each person a naan, place a few spoonfuls of the chicken and onions on top of the bread

Then splash on a wee bit of extra olive oil, a big dollop of hummus, a sprinkle of sumac, some pine nuts and lots of parsley 

If you fancy, a splash of pomegranate molasses lends a wonderful sweet tang to this dish


Notes:


Yasmin suggests using bone-in, skin-on thighs and drumsticks.  If you choose to do this, make sure you slash the pieces a few times before rubbing in the olive oil, seasoning etc.  She suggests 30-35 minutes for baking, but I found it needed at least an hour!

The onions and garlic can go in the baking dish first as I did; it all gets mixed up together anyway

I bought roasted garlic naan bread; it came as 2 pieces weighing 250g (8 oz).  Hubby ate his piece, and half of mine!  Buy or make gluten-free bread if this is an issue, or have the chicken with rice

FYI - the average lemon holds about 45 mL apparently; this one had about 50 mL/1.7 fl oz

I zapped a whole bunch of fresh parsley in my small food processor; whatever was left was zapped again with a small amount of salt and olive oil, and put into a ziploc bag, then into the freezer



EVOO poured over the onions and garlic


sprinkle on the spices and sumac


then Mr P. does his thing

ready for the fridge for up to 3 hours


after 3 hours in the fridge; ready for baking


after an hour or so in the oven at 190C


toasted pine nuts, chopped parsley and extra sumac


on go the parsley, hummus and pine nuts

splash on some pomegranate molasses for a hint of tangy sweetness 




sumac and red onions artwork © Sherry's Pickings


40 comments:

  1. What an incredibly delicious meal! I love to use sumac to make roasted chicken and use it for the salads. Yours looks really tasty served on the toasted naan, Sherry.

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  2. If this dish pleased the Pickings' palates (good line!), I'm sure it'd tickle mine. :-) Good dish -- sounds like an awesome recipe. Thanks.

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    1. oh yes a good line indeed KR. It is a very tasty recipe.

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  3. I love Middle Eastern food too and your recipe looks like a winner. Thumbs up to all the seasonings!

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  4. This is right up my eat street and I have almost all the ingredients so I should really give this a go. Fun fact: my husband doesn't like chicken with bones either!

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    1. Hubbies! What can you do with them? I'd prefer the bones myself...

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  5. This looks very tasty Sherry! I love the sound of all of these flavours :D Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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  6. I loved that you served it on naan! I am a sucker for that bread.

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    1. oh yes raymund it went so well on the bread. the juices soaked down into it...

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  7. Sounds fabulous Sherry. I love sumac and onions and chicken!

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  8. This recipe sounds very tempting to our taste buds as well. I love the idea of eating it with naan bread as you have. Pomegranate molasses is the finishing touch.I quite like the bones in chicken, but then it would need to be eaten differently. This way is great for casual dining. Thanks for sharing Sherry.

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    1. thanks pauline. yes it's great on naan. all those juices... hubby didn't go for the molasses but i thought it added just the right touch. i like bones too but then there's husbands ... :)

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  9. We have never heard of this dish, but it looks delicious! Love all the ingredients too! Thanks for sharing Sherry!

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  10. We have never heard of this dish, but it looks delicious! Love all the ingredients too! thanks for sharing Sherry!

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    1. thanks for dropping by! hope you try it out; it's delish:)

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  11. I echo Mr. P's thoughts about bones! To be fair, I've gotten more ok with them in recent years, but I totally identify with him. As far as this recipe, it looks amazing! You can see from that photo of Mr. P "doing his thing" how much flavor is packed into this one. And it sounds pretty easy to make, too!

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    1. i do love to gnaw on a chicken leg i have to admit. but hubby - no! yep heaps of flavour here. go for it!

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  12. Sherry - this is right down my alley - I can't wait to make this. I know I have thighs in the deep freeze (not sure if they are boneless or not... either way, they will work.) Will defintiely report back.

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    1. oh that's fantastic david. would love to hear from you how it turns out...

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  13. oh wonderful. Who wouldn't love this?!! Well, my husband. He doesn't like a lot of Middle Eastern dishes, which makes me very sad.

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    1. oh no! really, mimi? how can he not?:) it's my fave cuisine...

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  14. This looks amazing, Sherry! It's one of the first dishes my mother-in-law taught me when I was first married. the flavors are so delicious!

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    1. oh is your hubby middle eastern? what a wonderful dish to learn from someone personally.

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  15. This looks really delicious! I haven't cooked with sumac before, but this dish has inspired me to order some. Different food from what I normally make so it will be a nice change. Thanks!

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  16. Absolutely delicious lunch for hot summer days. Looks amazing too !

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  17. Sherry
    I love middle eastern spices and sumac is one thing that I have always used in making zaatar naan bread.Your baked chicken with sumac sounds great for dinner. Thanks for the helpful tips and great clicks.

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    1. hi there
      this really is a tasty meal. hope you try it:)

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  18. It does look like an amazing recipe. I'm a vegan, but my grown kids would love this dish. I'll pass on the recipe. thanks.

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  19. What's not to like about this one? It looks, and I'm sure tastes wonderful. I think I'd just put my fork down and fold the bread and tuck-in.

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