A New Year’s Resolution of sorts came about when I realised I could no longer reply on Waitrose to have the spices in stock that I need and I am unhappy with the prices they charge. In particular, sumac. This chicken dish calls for over 1½ tablespoons of sumac.That’s more than in a single pot from Waitrose! I had already discovered Red Rickshaw for buying Indian spices on line and now, for more middle Eastern flavours, I have found Hatton Hill Organic which can be ordered through Amazon. Problem solved! This recipe comes from my favourite new cookbook, Zaitoun by Yasmin Khan.

1kg chicken pieces, thighs, drumsticks or supremes, skin on
Olive oil
½tsp ground cumin
½tsp ground allspice
¼tsp ground cinnamon
1½tbsp sumac, plus more to dust
Juice of 1 lemon
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2-3 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
2tbsp pine nuts
Chopped parsley or coriander

Oven at 190°C

In a large bowl, mix the spices, lemon juice, about three tablespoons of olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Slash the skin on the chicken pieces before placing them in the bowl. Add the sliced onion and toss everything around so that it is thoroughly coated in the spice mixture. Cover and leave to marinade for 1-3 hours.

Spread the chicken pieces, onion and spice mixture onto a roasting pan and cook for about 35 minutes, turning the chicken half way through. Check with a skewer to make sure that the chicken is cooked and cover with tin foil to rest.

Fry the pine nuts in a little oil until they start to brown and drain on kitchen paper.

Serve the chicken with the pine nuts, chopped herbs and a little sumac sprinkled on top. Best served on naan or Arabic taboon bread and is also great with rice.

This dish could also be made with a spatchcocked chicken but will take a little longer to cook.