Chicken with citrus and Turkish spices
The secret to roasting pieces of meat and vegetables on a tray is to space them out properly, thus allowing them to cook evenly without boiling. This kind of recipe can easily become a meal in itself if you add some veggies around the meat. We also make a vegetarian version by replacing the chicken with whole carrots.
Ingredients
- 6 whole chicken legs
- 1 Tbsp coriander seed
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nigella
- 1 Tbsp Aleppo pepper
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 Tbsp fresh mint or 2 tsp dried mint
- 3 Tbsp coconut oil or clarified butter
- 2 medium onions
- 1 lemon
- 2 oranges
- ½ cup raisins
- 1 Tbsp honey
- Ground cinnamon for garnish
- Mint leaves for garnish (opt.)
- 1 cup taratur for garnish
Method
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1
Preheat oven to 325° F.
- 2 Put spices in a mortar and grind to a rough powder. Add salt, garlic and mint. Pound into a paste; incorporate oil.
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3
Rub spice paste over chicken. Place chicken pieces on a baking tray, space so they do not touch. Cut onions into six pieces and arrange on a baking tray.
-
4
Juice the lemon and oranges and reserve peels. Soak raisins in juice.
-
5
Slice the citrus peels and place around the chicken and onions. Roast for around 1½ hours.
-
6
Remove baking tray from oven. Place chicken and onions on a plate. Discard citrus skins. Put baking tray on the stove on medium heat. Add honey, citrus juice and soaked raisins. Deglaze the pan by scraping it with a spatula and reducing the juice a little.
-
7
Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle on the cinnamon. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve with taratur.
