Ottolenghi's Roast Chicken with Za'atar and Sumac

Name: Ottolenghi's Roast Chicken with Za'atar and Sumac
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 8 chicken thighs with skin and bones, trimmed of excess fat and loose skin; 2 red onions, thinly sliced; 1 lemon, thinly sliced; 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed; 5 tbsp olive oil, divided; 2 tablespoons za'atar plus more to taste; 1 tablespoon sumac; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 cup chicken broth; 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste; Topping:; 6 tablespoons pine nuts; 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

December 11, 2017 Updated November 20, 2022 by Lisa Goldfinger 87 Comments This post may contain affiliate links

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Here's an amazing roast chicken recipe from chef Yotam Ottolenghi. Chicken thighs are spiced with za'atar and sumac, tossed with onions, lemons and garlic, and roasted. This is a great dinner party recipe because you can do all the prep ahead. The chicken is tender and juicy and the flavors are fantastically delicious!

I love how quickly and easily this recipe comes together. Just throw everything into a big bowl to marinate. You can do this step several hours or up to a day ahead. Then transfer everything into a baking pan and roast.

THE PERFECT DINNER PARTY RECIPE

I've hosted three dinner parties since moving to London three months ago and I served this Ottolenghi's roast chicken with za'atar at all three. My guests all went back for seconds and everyone asked for the recipe, so I decided this was one I had to share.

HOW TO MAKE OTTOLENGHI'S ROAST CHICKEN

Slice two red onions and one lemon. Throw them into a big bowl.
Add all the other ingredients: Chicken thighs, spices, olive oil and two crushed garlic cloves
Toss the chicken with all the marinade ingredients. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge for at least three hours.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Transfer the chicken and all the marinade ingredients to a baking pan large enough to hold all the chicken pieces without overlapping.
Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked through.
If you like the skin browned, turn the oven up to broil for the last few minutes of cooking, until the chicken is golden brown and crisp on top.
Toasted pine nuts are a great garnish. You can toast them up ahead of time or while the chicken is roasting.

plastic bowl filled with chicken thighs, red onions, spices, lemons and garlic.

I made a few minor tweaks to the original Ottolenghi recipe.

Instead of chicken quarters I used only thighs, just a personal preference.
I omitted allspice from my recipe (Ottolenghi uses 1½ teaspoons). I tried it with and without and found the allspice too dominant. I prefer to let wonderful flavors of sumac and za'atar shine through.
Also, I discovered that roasting the chicken in a deep roasting pan resulted in juicier chicken and more delicious gravy vs roasting it in a shallow jellyroll pan.
The skin doesn't brown as much in the deeper pan but If you're set on crispy skin, simply turn on the broiler for the last few minutes of cooking time until the skin is crisp and brown to your liking.

Baking pan with 5 cooked chicken thighs topped with lemon, red onions, pine nuts and spices.

Ottolenghi has been my chef-hero for years. Now that I live in London, his home city, I find myself wanting to cook his beautiful Middle Eastern recipes more than ever. I brought very few cookbooks with me overseas but my entire Ottolenghi cookbook collection made the cut.

This roast chicken recipe comes from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook - his first cookbook and one of my favorites.

If you are an Ottolenghi fan, don't miss these other delicious Ottolenghi recipes on Panning The Globe:

Here's the recipe for Ottolenghi's Roast Chicken with Za'atar and Sumac. If you try this recipe I hope you come back to leave a rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think.

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