Musakhan
Musakhan is widely regarded as the national dish of Palestine. The name means “heated” — it refers to the bread, which soaks up olive oil, chicken juices and sour sumac. A thick layer of onions stewed with sumac goes on the flatbread, roasted chicken pieces on top, and toasted pine nuts to finish. It is eaten with the hands, everyone from one tray. Do not skimp on the onions or the sumac — they give the colour and the tang. Taboon bread is best, but a large pita works too.
Your own work in that: 15 min.
- Preparation 15 min
- Sumac onions 40 min
- Roasting the chicken 45 min
- Assembling 15 min
- Final bake 10 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneSeason the chicken
Rub the chicken pieces with the sumac, allspice, cinnamon, salt, pepper and olive oil. Leave while you prepare the onions; if you want to marinate them longer, keep them in the fridge.
Ingredients: 1000 g chicken thighs or leg quarters, skin on · 1 tbsp sumac · 1 tsp ground allspice · ½ tsp cinnamon · 1½ tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper · 2 tbsp olive oil
Slice the onions
Slice the onions thinly. It will look like a lot — that is no mistake, they cook down to a third of their volume.
Ingredients: 800 g onions · 50 ml olive oil · 3 tbsp sumac · ½ tsp salt
Stew the onions
Heat the olive oil in a large pot (about 26 cm) and stew the onions with the salt over medium heat for 35–40 minutes, stirring, until very soft and lightly golden but not scorched. They will fill the pot at first and quickly collapse.
Ingredients: 800 g onions · 50 ml olive oil · 3 tbsp sumac · ½ tsp salt
The onions should soften, not brown.Roast the chicken
Set the chicken skin side up in a large tin (about 30 × 20 cm) so the pieces do not overlap, and roast at 200°C for 40–45 minutes, until the skin is crisp and the juices run clear when pierced near the bone (75°C inside).
Ingredients: 1000 g chicken thighs or leg quarters, skin on · 1 tbsp sumac · 1 tsp ground allspice · ½ tsp cinnamon · 1½ tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper · 2 tbsp olive oil
Crisp skin, clear juices.Add sumac to the onions
Stir the sumac into the onions and cook 2 minutes more. They will turn dark and plum-coloured.
Ingredients: 800 g onions · 50 ml olive oil · 3 tbsp sumac · ½ tsp salt
Toast the pine nuts
Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan for 3 minutes, stirring constantly — they burn in seconds.
Ingredients: 2 pcs taboon bread or large pitas · 40 g pine nuts · ½ bunch parsley · 1 pcs lemon
Assemble
Lay the flatbreads on a tray, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the chicken roasting fat and spread the onions over them. Arrange the chicken on top and pour over the remaining juices from the tin.
Ingredients: 2 pcs taboon bread or large pitas · 40 g pine nuts · ½ bunch parsley · 1 pcs lemon
The bread soaks up juices and oil.Finish and serve
Return to a 200°C oven for 8–10 minutes so the bread warms and soaks. Scatter with pine nuts and parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
Ingredients: 2 pcs taboon bread or large pitas · 40 g pine nuts · ½ bunch parsley · 1 pcs lemon
Before you start
Sumac
Sumac is the ground fruit of tanner’s sumac (Rhus coriaria) — sour and fruity with no heat. It is sold in Middle Eastern shops and many supermarkets. Without it this is not musakhan; lemon zest and juice give only sourness, not the depth.
From a whole chicken
You can use a whole chicken cut into 8 pieces — roast for 50–55 minutes. Take the breast pieces out after 35 minutes so they do not dry out.
Storage
Keep the chicken and onions in the fridge for up to 2 days, separately from the bread. Reheat at 180°C and assemble on fresh bread — reheated soaked bread falls apart.
