A Roasted Chicken provides a simple way to bring Moroccan flavors into your kitchen. North African cooking often includes a spice paste called harissa as well as the use of pickled or preserved lemons. Harissa is a wonderful Moroccan spice blend that adds an extra burst of heat to any dish. Add a little to any meats while marinating or even to a curry and you have a new hot condiment. The use of cinnamon is also predominant in Moroccan cooking, so I have complemented the dish with a liberal use of this sweet spice.
I was pleasantly surprised to find both Harissa and pickled lemons in my grocery store.
Ingredients
1 whole uncooked chicken ( tastes better with skin on)
1 heaped teaspoon cinnamon
1 heaped teaspoon cumin
1 heaped teaspoon garlic
1 heaped teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon olive oil or other
1-2 teaspoons harissa paste ( or to taste)**, or 1 teaspoon chili powder or to taste
Middle Eastern pickled lemons (optional), or 2 whole lemons juiced and quartered
Salt to taste
Other: Cut into large cubes various root vegetables of choice. I used organic turnips, onions, 3 cloves of garlic smashed and baby potatoes. You could add carrots as well.
Method
Preheat the oven to 375 F
Wash, and then dry the chicken with a paper towel.
Add salt and rub all over chicken and the insides. Stab all over the chicken with a sharp skewer or a pointed knife. Leave on one side.
In a bowl add all the spices except for the pickled lemon.
Add lemon juice if using (fresh lemons) or vinegar to the dry spices to form a paste.
Add the harissa paste and the olive oil to the spice paste and mix well.
Rub this paste well all over the chicken and on the inside cavity. Let it sit for at least an hour in the fridge or overnight for best results.
Push 2 pickled lemons into the cavity, or the remnants of 2 fresh lemons after squeezing.
Spray a rack with kitchen oil. Place it on an oven tray for roasting.
If using vegetables. Toss the prepared vegetables in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Lay the vegetables around the chicken in the roasting pan.
Cook till browned well. The chicken will be crisp and the juices will run clear when a knife is inserted deep between the leg joint and the body. The whole process took me about 1 hour in the oven. Check after half hour and flip the chicken.
Let the chicken rest for ten minutes before cutting. Remove the pickled lemons from the cavity and chop finely. If you like the taste of the lemons, then mix with the cooked vegetables and serve with the chicken.....
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