Palestinian roast chicken buried in olive oil onions turned purple with sumac, served over rice instead of the traditional taboon bread so it stays gluten free.
Prep
25 mins
Cook
1h 5m
Servings
4
Per serving
£2.50
Difficulty
medium
Musakhan is normally built on flatbread that soaks up the oil and juices, which is exactly what makes it unsuitable for coeliacs. Served over rice the dish loses nothing important: the point is still the sheer quantity of sumac and slow-cooked onion against the roasted chicken.
Rub the chicken thighs with 2 tbsp of the olive oil, 2 tbsp of the sumac, the allspice, cinnamon, cardamom, the juice of one lemon and 1.5 tsp of the salt. Leave for 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight.
Heat 5 tbsp of the olive oil in a very large pan over a low heat. Add the sliced onions and 1 tsp of the salt and cook for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Aim for soft and translucent, not brown. This is a slow sweat, and five onions will look absurd until they collapse to a quarter of the volume.
Stir the remaining 3 tbsp sumac into the onions and cook for a final 5 minutes. They should turn a deep purple-brown and taste sharply lemony.
Heat the oven to 200C fan. Spread the sumac onions in a roasting dish and sit the marinated chicken on top, skin side up.
Roast for 40 to 45 minutes, until the skin is crisp and the juices run clear at the thickest part of the thigh.
Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in the last tablespoon of olive oil in a small pan for 2 minutes until golden. Set aside.
Cook the rice in plenty of salted boiling water for 10 to 11 minutes, drain and cover to steam dry for 5 minutes.
Spread the rice on a platter, spoon over the onions and all the oily pan juices, then arrange the chicken on top. Scatter with pine nuts and parsley and serve with lemon wedges.