Simple, delicious and a sure hit Friday nights
Savory Aromatic Chicken
Serves 5-6
Ingredients
1 large chicken, cut into serving pieces for at least 5-6 people
2 medium sized sweet potatoes, cut into 5 circles each
2 potatoes, cut into 5 circles each
1 tablespoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon paprika charifa, hot red pepper, optional
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
2 teaspoons dried garlic chips OR 3 cloves garlic, diced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
Method
I enjoy being able to roast/cook the chicken very close to when Shabbos comes in; however, I don’t want to be late to candle lighting nor do I want to be rushing around with chicken still to do at the last minute. This can be prepared early Friday morning, lined up in the pan ready to go and covered until you are ready to bake it. It makes for such an easy way to have very freshly cooked chicken, minus rush and hassle.
Clean and prepare all your chicken pieces, cut to your favorite sizes. I like to separate all the legs and thighs, as well as the other parts. Do not take off the skin. Remove excess fat.
Take out a large flat roasting pan. Spray the bottom of it with baking spray. Layer in the sliced sweet potatoes and the sliced potatoes. Layer the chicken pieces upside down all over the top and in between the sliced potatoes.
Put all the spices, including the dried garlic pieces, into a small bowl and mix it together with a spoon.
Take about 1/3 of the spices in your bowl and, using your spoon, generously sprinkle it all over the upside down pieces of chicken. Flip every chicken piece over so that it is right side up again. Lift up the skin on every piece but do not remove the skins. Sprinkle the remaining spices all over the chicken pieces, ensuring that every piece has a generous amount on it. Pull the skins back down.
Take your regular paprika shaker and shake a bit more paprika all over the chicken skins to make it look nice. If you have any spice mix remaining, use that too. Drizzle the olive oil over the top of everything. Add on the onion slices to the top of the chicken.
Cover the chicken with baking paper and then with foil (so the foil won’t be touching your food directly). Slide it into the fridge until you are ready to bake it.
Preheat the oven to 375°F/ 195-200°C for 15 minutes. Slide the prepared chicken tray into the oven and bake for 70 minutes, NOT LONGER. Turn off the oven immediately. You can now leave it in your oven until you eat it Friday night if you did this within the last 2 hours before Shabbos. If you want to cook it earlier, bake for 65 minutes; when re-warming it, do so for another 15-20 minutes to ensure it heats up properly and cooks a bit more.
Serve on a platter with chicken pieces on one side and the veggies on the other. This serves very nicely alongside any kind of rice.
