serves
4
prep
15 minutes
cook
1:30 hour
difficulty
Easy
serves
4
people
preparation
15
minutes
cooking
1:30
hour
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 1.6 kg free-range chicken
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp baharat
- 1 quantity tarator (see below)
- 50 g fried almonds (see Note)
- 1 tbsp fried pine nuts (see Note)
- 50 g walnuts, roughly chopped
- ½ small bunch flat-leaf parsley, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp ground sumac
- 1 tsp Turkish chilli powder
For the tarator
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) lemon juice
- 2 tbsp verjuice
- 10 g garlic, crushed to a fine paste
- 8 g salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 200 g tahini
- 150 ml water
Standing time: 20 minutes. Resting time: 20 minutes
Instructions
- Allow your chicken to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes prior to cooking. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
- Place the chicken into a large baking tray, then drizzle with the vegetable oil. Sprinkle over the salt and baharat, then bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a knife pierced into a thigh piece releases clear juices. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C.
- While the chicken cooks, make the tarator by combining the ingredients in the order listed in a jar or container. Seal with a tight-fitting lid, then shake to combine. It should be the consistency of thin cream. The sauce will thicken once refrigerated – loosen with a splash of water if needed.
- Carve the chicken, then transfer the pieces to a large baking tray platter. Pour over the taratoor, then bake for a further 5 minutes. Serve with the mixed nuts, parsley, sumac and Turkish chilli powder.
Note
Fried nuts
2 cups (500 ml) vegetable oil, for deep-frying
95 g (1 cup) flaked almonds, pistachios or pine nuts
Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium–high heat. You’ll know it’s hot enough when a couple of almonds dropped into the oil sizzle gently. Place the rest of the almonds into the hot oil. This will temporarily reduce the temperature of the oil, but stir occasionally and the temperature will come back up and the almonds will start to sizzle. Turn the heat down to low and stir more frequently until the nuts are light brown.
Because the nuts will continue to cook even after you take them out of the oil, quickly drain them in a strainer, allowing any excess oil to drain away. They will smell fantastic but don’t be tempted to taste them straight away, as they will be VERY hot.
Spread the nuts on a plate or tray lined with paper towel and allow to cool before storing in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 months.
Photography by Jiwon Kim.
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Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
