by Lisa Goldfinger 95 Comments This post may contain affiliate links
Jump to Recipe
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
My definition of a perfect dinner party recipe is a dish that will totally wow the crowd without stressing out the cook. This roast chicken recipe fits that description. Plus it's a beautiful looking dish with the contrasting colors of the roasted red onions, lemons and toppings of parsley and pine nuts.
I just love this dish. Whenever I serve it, my guests go back for seconds and I get lots of requests for the recipe. It's a great one to have in the cooking repertoire!
How to make Ottolenghi's Roast Chicken
This is an overview of the recipe - for full details and directions, scroll down the the recipe card at the bottom of this post
- 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/200ºC. 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.
- Turn the oven up to broil/grill for the last few minutes of cooking, until the chicken skin is crisp and golden brown.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and toasted pine nuts. You can toast them up while the chicken is roasting.
I made a few minor tweaks to the original Ottolenghi roast chicken 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 rimmed baking sheet.
- The skin doesn't brown as much in the deeper pan but If you're set on crispy skin, simply turn on the broiler/grill for the last few minutes of cooking time until the skin is crisp and brown to your liking.
Ottolenghi has been one of my chef-heroes for years. When I lived in London, his home city, I found 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 fromOttolenghi: 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:
- Coconut Curry Red Lentil Soup by Ottolenghi
- Ottolenghi's Sweet and Spicy Brussels Sprouts
- Ottolenghi's Turkey Zucchini Meatballs with Lemony Yogurt Sauce
- Ottolenghi's Turkey Corn Meatballs with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Ottolenghi's Lentil Salad with Herbs and Feta
If you try this Ottolenghi roast chicken recipe I hope you come back to leave a rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!
Be sure to follow Panning The Globeon Facebook,Pinterest and Instagram for more cooking inspiration.
Ottolenghi's Roast Chicken with Za'atar and Sumac
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star
4.8 from 31 reviews
- Author: Lisa Goldfinger
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
Delicious roast chicken thighs recipe with wonderful Middle Eastern flavors. An excellent dinner party recipe that can be prepped ahead of time and is worthy of a special occasion.
Ingredients
UnitsScale
For the Chicken
- 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 ½ teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
For The Topping:
- ⅓ cup pine nuts, toasted (see directions below)
- ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix chicken, onions, lemon, garlic, 4 tablespoons olive oil, spices, broth, salt, and pepper. Marinate in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 400°F/200ºC. Transfer chicken and its marinade to a shallow baking pan large enough to hold all the chicken pieces lying flat with a little space between pieces. Chicken should be skin side up. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until just cooked through. If you want the skin more browned, turn oven up to broil/grill for the last few minutes of cooking, checking every minute or so until the skin is as crisp and brown as you like it. (Be very careful not to burn it)
- While the chicken roasts, toast the pine nuts. Line a plate with a double layer of paper towels. Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add pine nuts and cook, stirring constantly, until they turn golden. Transfer to paper-towel-lined plate to absorb oil.
- To Serve, transfer chicken, onions and lemons to a serving platter. Pour pan juices over the chicken pieces. Sprinkle chicken with extra za'atar (if you like), chopped parsley and toasted pine nuts. See notes for suggested side dishes.
Notes
- If you want side dish suggestions, I recommend some kind of starch to help soak up the delicious juices and a salad. I love serving this chicken with these rustic mashed red-skin potatoes or this dish of roasted cauliflower and potatoes with kalamata olive vinaigretteand this Tricolore salad or this green salad.
Nutrition information is calculated by Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator for websites. We strive to keep the information as accurate as possible but nutrition information can vary based on many factors. If your health and well being is in question we recommend you check with a licensed dietitian or nutritionist.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Oven Roast
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
This post was originally published in December of 2017. Since then I've had lots of requests for side dish suggestions, so I've updated the post and added my recommendations to the recipe card. I also reworded some of the recipe instructions to make them easier to follow. Same delicious recipe!
More Chicken Recipes
- One Pot Coconut Lime Chicken and Rice
- Indian Chicken Biryani
- Vietnamese Noodles with Chicken: MìQuàngGà
- Chicken Pizzaiola
Reader Interactions
Comments
Susan Perez
Love this recipe! I’ve made it multiple times and it’s always a hit.
The chicken thighs are so juicy and the flavour profile is delicious.
I’m a fan, thank you!Reply
Marcy
Truly delicious. Marinated almost 24 hours. Served with couscous and green salad, and crunchy bread. Agree with the comment that double the "sauce" would be even better. It was great as leftovers the next day, too. I'm making it again this next weekend for guests who are foodies. I have no doubt it will be a hit.
Reply
Ioana
Came out perfect.
Reply
Lisa Goldfinger
Great to hear!
Reply
Sal
How much by weight of boneless chicken thighs should I use?
Reply
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi - that's a good question but hard to answer. Bone-in chicken thighs can weigh anywhere from 2-6 ounces. A pound of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs is, on average, three pieces. So, assuming you want a minimum of 8 pieces, I would suggest that you buy 2 1/2 to 3 pounds. I hope that helps and I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Reply
Alan
Cooked it with skinless chicken thighs in air fryer last night and it was extremely moist and tasty. Served with creamed potatoes and steam mixed vegetables.
Continuing to love Ottolenghi recipes.Reply
Lisa Goldfinger
That sounds like a delicious dinner. I'm glad to know this recipe works in the air fryer.
Reply
Charles Allen
I'm a simple man, with simple culinary skills. This recipe is simple enough for me to prepare, cook and deliver to a culinarily demanding audience, with oohs and aahs of gustatory joy bearing witness to the wonderful tastes and flavours in this dish. The chicken was moist, full of flavour and the marinade accompaniments, once cooked with the chicken, ended up in a fabulous oniony/gently spicy sauce after we added and cooked out a bit of cornflour with it in the cooking pan.
Reply
Sue winsin
It’s a great recipe I served it with the roasted aubergine and saffron yogurt dressing, and served it with plain cous cous delicious
Reply
Lauren
HI, would this work with skinless chicken thighs?
Thanks!Reply
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi - Yes! If you use bone-in chicken thighs without skin, the recipe will work perfectly as is. Because of all the colorful toppings, you don't need to brown the skin or the top of the chicken. If you want to use boneless, skinless thighs, you might reduce the cooking time by 5-10 minutes, as the chicken will cook faster without bones. I hope you enjoy!
Reply
Lynne LeBlanc
Delicious. The combination of flavors is incredible. A friend is averse to cinnamon so I added a bit less than the recipe (she didn't notice and LOVED the dish). I also used only breasts (halved) as the same guest was averse to thigh meat. I served this with cous cous, roasted carrots (with a tiny amount of brown sugar and cardamom after they were tossed with oil and S+P) and asparagus. The orange carrots and green asparagus made for a beautiful plate.
Reply
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi Lynne - I'm so glad you enjoyed this dish so much! I love what you served on the side - Thanks for reporting back! 🙂
Reply
BC
This is a really wonderful recipe; the smell alone is a real delight, and the flavours are spot on. We have now made this dish 2 times, adding in some extra lemon the second time because our kids couldn't get enough of the tart edge. I do recommend at least 6 hours of marinating to really allow the flavours to meld together.
Reply
Lucy
Hello,
I’d like to cook this for a dinner party this week but one of my guests can’t eat lemon. What could I use as a substitute please?
Also, the starter I’m making has lots of pine nuts in - is there anything I can use instead in this dish?
Thanks for your help!
Reply
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi Lucy,
You can leave out the lemon and the dish will still be delicious. Sumac has a lemony flavor. I suggest serving lemon wedges on the side for those who may like to squeeze some over their chicken. As for the pine nuts, those are just for a final flourish and some toasted nutty flavor. I think toasted chopped pistachios would also work well. I hope you enjoy!
GRENVILLE HORNER
Yep!
This works....
Totally delicious and only left to chill in the fridge for one hour.
Don't bother using anything but chicken thighs, they are the BEST for this dish.
The toasted pine nuts add a beautiful finish.
Great recipe.
I served it with giant (Mediterranean flavoured) cous cous and green beans.
Out of this world!!Reply
Lisa
I'm so glad you enjoyed this dish! And I agree with you about the chicken thighs - they're the my favorite in this dish (and in most any chicken dish). Thanks so much for circling back to review the recipe!
Reply
Lucia smith
amazing roast chicken recipe is our family favorite but in my home, I cook it with ghee instead of using butter. Ghee is more flavorful and nutritious than butter and ghee clarified butter smoke point is higher than butter. Use ghee instead of using butter as a cooking oil., and enjoy better taste, better health benefits.
To know more : https://milkio.co.nz/clarified-butter-smoke-point/Reply
Christabel Harley
I use Ras el hanout instead of zatar it’s delicious
Reply
Lisa
Interesting! I'm glad you enjoyed!
Reply
Ailene
I love to follow this recipe for my sir and madam love this chicken recipe so much for dinner parties and easy to prepare.Thank you so much Ottolenghi.
Reply
Liz K
I adore this recipe! This is one of my go-to dinner party chicken recipes - along with chicken marbella. Thank you and thanks to Ottolenghi!
Reply
Gillian
Very disappointed it tastes so 'bleh' and I keep thinking I must have left out an ingredient like chillies or something like that. It has minimal flavour and in fact is a ittle sweet. I think ai might have to eat it with hot sauce.
Reply
Lisa
I'm sorry you were disappointed - Everyone's tastes are different. I hope the hot sauce helped.
Reply
Heloise
I absolutely love this recipe, it never disappoints! The only substitute I make is sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts, as I always have some and they are much cheaper. I think half a lemon is enough. We have it with any kind of flat bread, plain rice, green salad, coleslaw, and last time, with a Pinot Grigio rosé (dry and not too fruity)! Thanks so much for this Ottolenghi recipe.
Reply
Rosie Houston
I love this recipe. What do you normally serve it with at your dinner parties?
Thank you!Reply
Lisa
Hi Rosie - I'm so glad you love the recipe! For dinner parties I will often serve the chicken with this shredded kale salad https://www.panningtheglobe.com/raw-kale-salad-honey-lemon-parmesan/ and either mashed potatoes, smashed potatoes, rice, or this roasted potato-cauliflower dish https://www.panningtheglobe.com/roasted-cauliflower-potatoes-chickpeas-kalamata-olive-vinaigrette/. This tricolore salad https://www.panningtheglobe.com/insalata-tricolore/ also works really well with the Ottolenghi chicken. I hope this helps - enjoy!
Reply
Leave a Comment
« Older Comments
