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Lebanese Roast Chicken with Chickpeas, Hazelnuts, & Sumac
Over Rice with Yogurt
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy
I love this
exotic mix of Lebanese spices and flavors with some Turkish and Israeli
influences. Lebanese cuisine includes
copious amounts of garlic, olive oil and lemon.
Poultry is eaten more often than red meat. Frequently used in Turkish
cuisine are lentils and nuts…in this case featuring chickpeas and hazelnuts.
Who doesn’t
love roast chicken? You could make this dish with a whole chicken or with whole
chicken legs as I have described here. I love the crackly, crisp salty skin and
moist tender meat. But, most of the time, I don’t like roast chicken because most
of the time, well, you end up with dry breast meat in order to cook the leg
meat adequately. It also makes a mess of my oven. Lately if desiring a whole
roasted or grilled chicken, I have been butterflying the chicken in order to
achieve the 150-degree F for the breast simultaneously with the 170-degree
legs. It is relatively simple to butterfly the chicken by cutting out the spine
and flattening the carcass. I promise to share pictures of how to do this in
the near future, but today, we use whole chicken legs.
One
spectacular exception to a whole roast chicken is when the recipe calls for stuffing.
Obviously, butterflying the bird will not work. See Roast Chicken with Ricotta Stuffing,
Marsala Sauce served on toast…..check it out: http://cookingwithlarue.blogspot.com/2014/12/roast-chicken-with-ricotta-stuffing.html
- 2 Tb plus 1 tsp ground coriander
- 4 tsp sumac, divided
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 4 whole (thigh & drumstick) chicken legs OR 1 whole chicken (4-4½ lbs), lumps of fat removed & butterflied
- 2 - 3 lemons, (2 sliced, 1 quartered)
- 1 Tb butter
- ¼ C each golden raisins and dried currants
- 1 can (14.5 oz) chickpeas (garbanzos), rinsed
- 3 Tb chopped fresh parsley
- ½ C coarsely chopped roasted hazelnuts
- Hot long-grain rice white rice, cooked with a little dried mint
- Plain whole-milk yogurt seasoned with salt and dried mint
Combine 2 Tb
coriander, 2 tsp sumac, the cumin, pepper and 1 tsp salt. Rub chicken with 1½ Tb olive oil, then all over with spice
mixture. If using a whole chicken, include inside and outside of chicken. Let
seasoning marinate the chicken all day, or overnight if you can. If unable, just proceed with cooking.
For chicken legs:
Heat oven to 450 degree F. Slice 2 lemons into thick 1/3“ slices and place on
bottom of foil lined roasting pan. Put
chicken legs on top and arrange quartered lemons around. Cover tightly with
heavy-duty foil and put into warmed oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil, and roast
uncovered for an additional 30-40 minutes until meat thermometer inserted near
joint registers 170 degrees.
For whole roasted
chicken: Heat oven to 500 degree F. Set lemon slices on rimmed baking sheet
lined with aluminum foil. Add butterflied chicken to top of lemon slices
positioned so that breasts are aligned with the center of the baking sheet and
legs are close to edge. Roast until thickest part of breast close to bone
registers 150 degrees and joint between thighs and body registers at least 170
degrees, about 45-50 minutes, reducing the heat to 450 degree F if the chicken
starts to darken too quickly.
Meanwhile,
heat remaining 1½ Tb oil and the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add raisins, currants, 1½ tsp sumac, and remaining coriander and
salt. Cook, stirring, until puffy and sizzling, 2-3 minutes. Stir in a splash
of water, the chickpeas, and parsley and cook until hot. Lastly stir
in hazelnuts.
Spread rice
on a serving dish. Arrange chickpea mixture over rice, and then set chicken on
top. Serve with yogurt, the roasted lemon quarters and more sumac to add to
taste.
We had this
recently with a wonderful Oregon Pinot Noir.
Give a try. You will not be
disappointed.
Bon Appetit!
Larue
Credit and inspiration to Troya in San Francisco, a
Turkish-Mediterranean eatery in the Fillmore district
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