Roasted Sephardic (Yemenite) Chicken With Potatoes

Submitted by AniSarit

"This is so easy, you'll want to make it all the time. It's so tasty, you'll be craving it all the time! The best part is when someone bites into the potatoes and has that look of ecstasy."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 5mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 1 roasting chicken, cup up into all its parts, and cleaned, skin on
• 5 potatoes, sliced into 1/2inch rounds (I love Yukon Gold, but Russet will do fine!)
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 large ripe tomatoes, sliced (you can use whole cherry tomatoes)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil (can use more if you don't have restrictions)
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
• 1⁄2 tablespoon hawaij
• 1⁄2 tablespoon ground allspice
• kosher salt (don't be skimpy here!!)
• ground black pepper

• Optional (but is a must for my family)

• garlic (I use 6 cloves) (optional)
• green pitted olive (I use 2 handfuls) (optional)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 400deg F.
2. In a large pan, place the chicken, potatoes, onions, red pepper, and the optional ingredients (if you're using them), and drizzle all the spices and olive oil on top, and mix well to coat everything (I recommend doing this with latex gloves as the turmeric can be a real pain to take off of skin!).
3. Relayer so that the chicken skin side is up and that all the chicken is on one layer. Add the tomato slices (or whole cherry tomatoes).
4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about an hour. Baste with juices mid-way if you like, and ensure the chicken is cooked all the way through (may need more time if pieces are large).
5. It's ready when a fork easily breaks the potatoes, and the chicken is soft.
6. Remove foil, and broil for 3-5minutes until chicken skin and potatoes are crispy on top (careful not to burn!).
7. Enjoy!

Reviews

[Sefardi Sammy]

Important note: This is a fabulous dish (thank you, Ani Sarit), but I agree with reviewer Patricia L. I made the mistake of following the initial recipe's instructions on heating time and temperature -- and wound up with a bone-dry meal As I was cooking it in advance for 12 people, I decided it best to toss it out and start again -- despite the cost. But it was worth it. If you follow Patricia L's temp/time suggestion, you will surely not overcook it. You may find yourself wanting to add as much as 30 minutes for the potatoes, but keep checking on it. And I also recommend,as with any such chicken dish, to baste periodically with the juices as it is cooking. Again, a truly wonderful dish.

 

[Patricia L.]

I made the recipe last week with only chicken legs. The baking time is way too long and high for chicken parts (I cooked chicken with another recipe for this long/hot and it was bone dry). I ended up baking it at 400 degrees for 15 minutes and then lowered it to 375 for another 40. That was plenty to not only cook the legs through, but also the potatoes. I made my own Hawaij with a recipe I pulled off the internet. The chicken was very tasty; so were the potatoes. Definitively a keeper. Just not with those temps.

 

[Duke of Prunes]

This is an awesome recipe. My children beg for it. I haven't been able to find the hawaij, and no one in our local Indian and Arabic stores have heard of it. However, it is fairly easy to mix on your own. And since it's a five spice mix, I suppose you can call it Hawaiij 5-O.<br/><br/>In lieu of it, I've added shawarma powder to the spice mix, and it gives it a nice kick. It's also very similar to hawaiij.<br/><br/>I also broil the chicken for about 15 minutes instead of five as it seems to come out crispier, but that may have more to do with my oven.

 

[Chef Jean]

I used boneless skinless chicken breast and didn't do the broil part, but this still turned out to be a very nice dinner! I loved the spices together and the veggies and potatoes added a nice touch as well. Madoe for Let's Party 2011.

 

[rn0424]

This was so delicious, a big hit for my whole family.