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What a salacious little number this is - saucy and just a little bit sweet, fragrant and yet feisty; you will be coming back for more! You may not know what Sumac is, and to be frank it is an ingredient that I have only had a couple times on trips to Turkey and then when playing with this dish at home. As far as I know this isn’t a traditional recipe of sorts, it is very much an organic creation based on dishes and flavours I have consumed. I think you will like how this dish has ended up... Anyway, a little more about the Sumac - These little fruits grow all over Turkey and in terms of the kitchen, they come in a dried powder form. It hums with the tantalising fragrance of an eastern spice but it’s flavour is tangy and lemony. It is common in the Middle East and is a great addition to chicken in particular, but could also be used to replace lemon seasoning on grilled fish; it’s a lovely ingredient that I need to experiment more with. It is surprisingly easy to find… a friend recently accompanied me on a what we assumed to be a grand shopping expedition to get sumac but it was in the first deli I walked into. You can certainly find it in M&S, Tesco and Waitrose. Now my little introduction at the top wasn’t all that much of an exaggeration - this dish is full flavoured and while it may sound like there are a lot of strong flavours in this dish the chicken takes them on very well. The longer you marinade the better the result will be! If you look down to the ingredients list you may notice another unusual ingredient: pomegranate Molasses. It is essentially a syrup made from pomegranates; with an unctuous, and sultry sweet tang, you need to get your hands on some. It helps to balance the very rich sun dried tomatoes and spicy zest of the sumac, it also brings out the natural sweetness of the chicken. Don’t worry about your dinner turning into a sweet and sour concoction though, it is surprisingly subtle if you take care to taste and not overdo the ingredients. Now this ingredient is probably harder to hunt down; as it happened I lived near a marvellous deli when I was searching for this. Nonetheless I believe you can get it at Waitrose as well as Holland & Barrett's but a good deli or middle eastern shop will have it. You could always use honey as a replacement but you won’t get the same fruitiness in your end result. So try something different and give this recipe a go!
Serves: 2 Prep time: 15 mins (1-4 hours to marinade) Cooking time: 30-40 mins
Ingredients:
Sumac - 2 teaspoons
Salcha (sundried tomato paste) - 3 teaspoons
Pomegranate Molasses - 2 teaspoons.
Aleppo Pepper (Cayenne pepper works too) - 1 teaspoon
Paprika - 1 teaspoon
2 garlic cloves - grated
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Chicken Thighs - 4-6 depending on size
Sesame Seeds - a sprinkle for the chicken at the end of cooking.
Method:
Pierce the chicken a few times over and place in a large bowl or food bag.
Add in each of the marinade ingredients and mix them all together. rubbing in well and leave to marinade for an hour minimum - you will really notice the difference.
After marinating, decant the chicken and the marinade into a roasting dish and bake at 200 degrees until the chicken takes on a crisp golden colour. This should be 30-40 minutes - be sure to baste the chicken occasionally during cooking to ensure a succulent result.
5 minutes from the end, sprinkle over your sesame seeds. Remove from the oven and allow 5-10 minutes of resting time. Serve with asparagus/peas along with the suggested couscous recipe below.