Sumac Chicken and Rice

Ingredients

Spice mix / rub

• 1/4 cup sumac
• zest from 1 lemon
• 1 tsp fine grain/table salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper (black pepper is fine too)

Rice mix

• 3 cups basmati or jasmine rice
• 1/2 cup pine nuts (raw is ok, toast them if you're feeling fancy)
• 4 tbsp dried barberries
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp fine grain/table salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil

All the rest

• 6 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken legs (drumstick & thigh) or chicken breasts
• olive oil for chicken rubdown
• 1 red onion, cut in 1/2 inch thick slices
• 1 lemon, cut in 6 even slices (thicker the better)
• 4 cups (~32 fl oz) chicken stock

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400°F with the rack in the middle

2. Make the spice rub in a good sized bowl that'll fit all the chicken pieces

3. Rub the chicken pieces down with olive oil, separating the skin from the meat but leave the skin intact

4. Rub the spice mix under the skin and on top of the pieces of chicken

5. In a roasting pan, combine the raw rice, pine nuts, barberries, turmeric, salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir until the rice is a beautiful yellow color, and spread the rice out so it's pretty flat

6. Top the rice with the circles of red onion and lay the chicken pieces on top of the onions. Top each piece of chicken with a lemon slice

7. If you are assembling ahead of time and roasting later, this is the point you will want to cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil or lid and set in the fridge

8. Pour the stock gently around the chicken into the rice

9. Cover the roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil and place it in the oven. Roast for 40 minutes

10. Remove the foil and sprinkle an additional 1/4 cup sumac across the dish

11. Continue roasting for an additional 30-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the rice has soaked up all of the liquids

Substitutions

• The pine nuts aren't strictly necessary
• Dried cranberries can be used instead of barberries
• Sumac is pretty tart and in a pinch, can probably be replaced with more lemon

References

1. Sumac Chicken and Rice