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Musakhan
Sumac chicken on flatbread
مسخن (musakhan): Palestinian sumac roast chicken on flatbread soaked in olive-oil onions, with toasted pine nuts
Musakhan is the dish Palestinian families in the villages around Jenin and Tulkarem make in late autumn, when the olives have been pressed and the first green, peppery oil comes home from the mill. Mounds of onion are cooked slowly in that oil with plenty of sumac, piled onto taboon bread with roast chicken and baked until the bread's edges crisp and its middle soaks up the purple-red juices. It is eaten with your hands, shared from one big tray, with yogurt and a chopped salad. Chef's tip: use more oil than feels right; the bread is meant to drink it, and a dry musakhan misses the point.
- Total time
- 100 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 4 chicken legs (thigh and drumstick)about 1.2 kg, skin on
- 1 tbsp sumac
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For the onions and bread
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 ¼ lb onionsabout 5, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp sumac
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ⅜ oz pine nuts
To serve
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped
- 7 oz plain yogurt (optional)
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Rub 4 chicken legs (thigh and drumstick) all over with 1 tbsp sumac, 1 tsp ground allspice, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 1 ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper and 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or overnight. Wash the board and your hands after handling raw chicken.
60 minStep 2: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan). Roast the chicken in a tray, skin up, for 40–45 minutes until golden and the thickest part of a thigh reaches 165°F, with clear juices.
45 minStep 3: Meanwhile, warm ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil in a wide pan over a medium-low heat. Add 2 ¼ lb onions and 1 tsp salt and cook gently for 30–35 minutes, stirring now and then, until very soft, sweet and pale gold. A common mistake is frying them hard and fast: they brown at the edges but stay raw and sharp inside.
35 minStep 5: Lay 4 taboon bread or large thick flatbreads on two baking trays. Brush each one with oil from the onion pan, then spread the onions thickly over the top, letting the oil soak in.
Step 6: Put a chicken leg on each bread, spoon the roasting juices over, and return to the oven for 8–10 minutes until the bread edges are crisp and the chicken is sizzling.
10 minStep 7: Scatter with the pine nuts and 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley. Serve straight from the tray with 7 oz plain yogurt and a chopped salad.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 920 kcal
- Protein
- 46 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 56 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does musakhan take?
- About 100 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 80 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of ground cinnamon?
- A cinnamon stick, ground: about ½ tsp per stick.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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