Kamini's Middle Eastern Roast Chicken recipe
Christmas is a time for celebrating the true joys of life, be it family, friends and good relationships.
What better way to celebrate the people in your life than to have them over for a home cooked meal, made with love - and eaten with gratitude?
Weather-wise, Christmas in Durban is a far cry from anything that you will see in a Christmas holiday movie. We’re always hanging by the pool or beach, and wearing as little as possible trying to overcome the heat, while the northern hemisphere experiences a white winter Christmas.
This year why not try something different?
Spice up your taste buds with some Mediterranean flavour for a special Christmas meal.
This is a recipe suited to our warmth and humidity, chosen by our inspiring celebrity chef, Kamini Pather.
The former Durbanite, who understands our climate all too well, sent us the recipe for her delicious Middle Eastern Roast Chicken dish.
Kamini tried this dish while on her recent travels around the globe to shoot her TV series, Girl Eat World.
Middle Eastern Roast Chicken
Serves six
Ingredients
1 whole free range chicken
3 - 4 Tablespoons Sumac (A lemony spice used in Mediterranean dishes. If you can’t find it locally, try lemon zest with a little salt, which makes a decent stand-in for the real thing)
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Method
Mix the Sumac with the olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic into a thick paste. Lift the skin on the bird and rub the mixture underneath the skin. Be sure to get in at the meat around the drumsticks and wing bits. It will take a bit of effort but it will be worth it.
Heat the oven to 200° and roast the bird for 1 hour and 30minutes for a 1.5kg bird.
Serve with nutty couscous
Couscous
Ingredients
2 Cups whole-wheat couscous
½ onion, cubed
2 knobs of butter
Olive oil
Handful slivered almonds, toasted
2 Cups Chicken stock, hot
Method
Prepare the couscous by pouring hot stock over the starch. Cover with cling film and allow to steam. While the couscous is steaming, soften the onions in the butter and olive oil until soft and translucent.
Fork the couscous through until fluffy. Add the onions to the couscous and toss through the almonds.
Enjoy!
(Photo: Kamini Pather, by James Boon)