Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken with Za’atar and Sumac
Sumac and Za’atar on a spatchcocked chicken. The chicken is flavourful and so tender that it fell apart. No need to carve!
Anyone else hate going to the dentist for cleanings even if you know your teeth are just fine? I brush 3 times a day and floss once a day. Ok, I floss most days but that is still better than a lot of people. I tolerate the scraping and even the perverse pleasure the hygienist takes at talking to you and expecting an answer while you lay there, mouth agape. For me the true torment comes when they polish my teeth. The buzzing and that foul gritty stuff they use in conjunction with that spinning tool that makes that high pitching whirring sound in your ear. I just hate it.
I was dreading my dentist appointment and then I realized that I’m a grown up now and I don’t have to get my teeth polished if I don’t want to. So I put my big girl panties on, before I left the house, and I politely let the hygienist know that I did not want my teeth polished, thank you very much.
Even though I didn’t get my teeth polished, the hygienist still took her sweet time and I was a little worried about the status of this spatchcocked chicken that I had left under the supervision of my husband. When I say supervision, I actually mean that he completely ignored it while he played with Timothy. It is wonderful that he was playing with our sweet boy, but I got home five minutes before we would have been heading into burnt chicken territory.
Instead of being burnt, the chicken turned out absolutely perfectly. It was so tender, flavourful and moist. It fell apart a little as I took it out of the roasting pan and there were some gorgeous bits on the bottom that I turned into the most simple pan sauce imaginable. I put about half a cup of water in, stirred it around and then poured that into a little bowl. I spooned out the excess fat, and voila, delicious jus for the chicken.
I served the chicken with a simple salad and I loosely followed Aimee’s recipe for Buttermilk Dressing on Simple Bites. I didn’t have the recipe called up when I was putting the dressing together so I winged it from what I could remember. It was a delicious change from the usual vinaigrettes I’d been making. Timothy is still on a strict ‘cucumber only’ regimin when it comes to fresh vegetables though. At least he eats something green.
On the left is Sumac, a tangy spice that adds a lemony earthiness to the chicken. The aroma is quite intoxicating while the chicken is roasting. On the right is Za’atar. This blend has oregano, sesame seeds, savoury and sumac. Its flavour is familiar but with twist.
- 1 3lb whole chicken
- 1 large onion
- 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp Za’atar spice blend
- 2 tsp Sumac
- 1 tsp Maldon Sea Salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
- Take the whole chicken and lay it on a board with the breast side down. With a good pair of kitchen scissors that can be separated for easy cleaning, start cutting along one side of the spine. Try to cut as close to it as you can. You will crunch through bones. Once you have cut all along one side, cut along the other side. Discard the spine once you have cut it out.
- Cut the onion into eight chunky pieces and arrange it on the bottom of your roasting pan to create a bed for the chicken. Do the same to the lemon but squeeze some of the juice over the chicken before arranging the pieces on the bottom of the pan.
- Place the chicken on the bed of onion and lemon skin side up.
- Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken and then sprinkle the sumac and Za’atar evenly over the whole chicken.
- Sprinkle the salt and peper over the chicken as well.
- Place the roasting pan in the oven, uncovered and roast for an hour and a half. The chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
- For a simple pan sauce, add ½ cup water, stir to mix the dark bits in with the water. Pour liquid into a bowl and spoon out the excess fat.
- Serve with a large salad or platter of cut up vegetables for a simple dinner.
Add comment June 12, 2013
Leaving to Find Home – Canadian Food Experience Project
Freezing my ass off at the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.
This post is part of The Canadian Food Experience Project where on the 7th of every month for a year, a group of bloggers will write a post with a common theme. This month’s theme is My First Authentic Canadian Food Experience.
There are many things that I recall that I realize now are considered very Canadian, but to me they were just regular life such as: pick-your-own strawberries, butter tarts and Nanaimo bars. There is one day and particular when I was living in Northern Ireland that connected me with Canada and in turn my Canadian identity: Pancake Tuesday. You are probably wondering why I’m writing about living in Northern Ireland for the theme of First Authentic Canadian Food Experience. Stay with me, I’ll explain.
Sometimes it seems like I must have just gotten back a few months ago but then I remember that it was thirteen years ago that I returned from my year in Northern Ireland. The reality of it is, is that I went to Northern Ireland for my third year of university back in 1999. To say I was shy and naive is an understatement. I had been to the U.S. a few times but I had never really been far away from my family before. I saw a poster on the bulletin board of a lecture hall at my university announcing an exchange opportunity to Northern Ireland and I went to the meeting. I applied to the program and I was accepted. That September I left for eight months away in Coleraine, North Ireland.
I arrived in Belfast on a rainy Saturday. There are probably 3 sunny Saturday’s in Northern Ireland a year, so I soon discovered that being slightly damp all the time was the norm. After a lonely weekend where I was the only soul on campus, my fellow students started to arrive. I lived with other international students and I didn’t make friends with Irish students until later in the week.
I have never made friends easily but I did make a couple lasting friendships while I was over there. Most notably, Kevin, who took pity on me and invited me to spend time with his family on weekends and Easter break when all the Irish students made a mass exodus home. Kevin is one of the people I had over for Pancake Tuesday that year.
Even though I’m not a steady church goer, Pancake Tuesday was always celebrated in my house. It was such a treat every year when my mom would make pancakes for dinner and serve it, not with real maple syrup since that was pricey, but with Aunt Jemima syrup or even dark corn syrup. Yep, corn syrup. I always assumed that everyone did Pancake Tuesday and it wasn’t until I got older that I learned about Mardi Grasi. We folks with British heritage don’t really let it all hang out on Shrove Tuesday.
When Pancake Tuesday rolled around and I saw the display the grocery store had set up with all the pancake fixings, I felt a little nostalgic and wanted pancakes for dinner. I was a little perplexed about why there was lemon juice and white sugar as part of the display, right next the maple syrup. I used some of my meagre student grocery budget and bought some of the real maple syrup and spent the evening with my friends as I made pancakes and served them with syrup if they wanted it. One guy wanted the lemon juice and syrup and who was I to argue with tradition.
These are some of the boys who really showed me how to drink Guinness.
So what does finding comfort in the British tradition of Pancake Tuesday have to do with an authentic Canadian food experience? The ritual of making pancakes for dinner that Tuesday connected me with home and, I was surprised to find out, my British heritage as well. The funny thing about travel is that while you are away experiencing other cultures & learning about different traditions, you seem to find a way to learn something about your own home.
8 comments June 7, 2013
Chunky Peach Jam BBQ Sauce
BBQ Sauce made with homemade peach jam.
I’m gearing up for canning season but I still have jam in my pantry from last summer. I want to use it up so my husband doesn’t question me about why I’m making more jam when I haven’t used all the jam I made last year (or the year before that). We were grilling up some chicken drumsticks so I thought I would throw together a quick, homemade bbq sauce.
I used a jar of my Peach Jam with Earl Grey Tea because that is what I had on hand. To be honest, I was looking for a jar of rhubarb jam but we were all out. I’m not surprised that we don’t have a surplus of rhubarb jam. It is a household favourite. Simon puts dollops of it on Greek yogurt. Poor bugger can’t have the pleasure of well buttered toast anymore but I think he is happy enough with eating jam on yogurt.
I’m not sure how much canning I will get done this season but I do know what I want to make this year. Some of it will be old favourites and I hope to add a few new items to the blog. We’ll see though since I will be moving at the beginning of August and I have to go camping in July. Notice how I wrote that I have to go camping? Simon’s family is going camping together and to be a good sport I said we go but only for two nights. I hate camping. I hate being dirty and I loathe mosquitos so much that I’m worried I will be driven a little mad by the little f*#%ers.
Here is a list of the canning I want to get done this year.
- Rhubarb Vanilla Bean Jam
- Strawberry Rhubarb Ever After Jam
- Preserved Cherries with Brandy
- a rhubarb bbq sauce
- savoury cherry preserves
- I’d like to experiment with herbs as flavourings
- preserved peaches in honey vanilla syrup
- buckets or rhubarb syrup
- peach syrup so I can finally make this again Honey Vanilla Peach Margarita
What do you have in mind for canning this year? Are you new to preserving? How do you use up last year’s preserves? I would love to hear some of your ideas for inspiration and some tips.
- 1 cup peach jam
- 1 small onion, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- ¼ cup white wine
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp chili powder
- Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat.
- Finely mince the onion and garlic and add to heated oil.
- When softened and beginning to brown, add the white wine and vinegar. Let that simmer for a minute and then add the peach jam.
- Stir to mix it well and add the chili powder, salt and pepper.
- Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes.
- Serve over chicken or pork.
2 comments June 4, 2013
