Today I brought YOU a dish from the Arabic cuisine . A succulent roasted chicken, crispy on the outside and juicy in the inside. It’s very easy to make, healthy, flavorful and naturally gluten free!
This roasted chicken with potato is one of the most popular dishes in the Arabic cuisine. When I was younger, this dish was made it to our family table all the time, at least once weekly. We used to it eat with white rice, and a side of yogurt, sometimes with a salad too. And mom always preserved the sauce to pour it over the rice too.
I didn’t cook this dish to my family more than few times! And that’s a shame. It’s really a great one! So delicious, tangy, comfort, and fulfilling too. I didn’t cook it actually, because I thought it’s so simple to make. I wanted to prove to myself and others that I can make complicated dishes that has more components, and more than throwing everything in a oven dish! This type of dishes is very popular called صواني which literally means, Pans! So we throw vegetable we know of, and cook it in the oven with spices, onions/ garlic or both , and of course lots of olive oil! And many times Meatless!
This dish is full of real food items such as olive oil, lots of garlic, extra lemon juice, cilantro powder & fresh leaves, and extra fresh cilantro on everyone’s platter too! These ingredients are bursting of flavors and also nutrients.
It’s much tastier if use chicken with bones. Boneless chicken also will taste good, but not as good as with bones.
Potato
While potato has a bad reputation, it can be really healthy for you, the method of cooking affects very much the calories and fat content. Also, it’s more important for the diabetic persons to be aware of its high glycemix index value, and how many carbohydrates it has.
Potato made it to the blog few times, were it was the star of dish or just a part of it. healthy potato hash, and here in a well known appetizer, called batatta harrah (spice potato) Here, in this recipe, potato is baked and don’t have the additional fatty toppings like butter and cheese. And it’s the main source of carbs here. However, it’s better to have the salad ready, so you won’t overeat of potatoes.
Roasted Chicken
I cooked chicken a lot. This roasted chicken dish is very healthy, and moderate in calories. It’s versatile, affordable, and most importantly it has lean protein, which mean has good amount of protein and moderate amount of fat. It fits with so many flavors and easy to cook and deal with.
Here are some of my favorites chicken recipes, and actually most viewed by YOU
Chicken & Dried Apricots Moroccan Tajine
Easy Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk
Cilantro
I had hate/ love relationship with cilantro. I used to hate it when mom add the fresh one’s over mloukhiya Years later after trying different cuisines, and different dishes, I tried pico de galle salad (the Mexican salad). I loved it, the fresh cilantro gives it a very refreshing taste. And It became a staple in my kitchen.
This chicken dish is healthy because:
- Chicken has high tryptophan amount, which helps you sleep, and makes you feel better. Also, high in magnesium, and high in zinc that is good for raising testosterone level, and boosting immunity.
- It has cilantro that is has high content of antioxidants like beta carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin . And high amounts of vitamin A and C and fibers
- Olive oil has Oleic acids, which is monounsaturated, which is good for the heart.
- Garlic is a low calorie food, that has high amounts of vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, B6 and manganese.
- Potato is high in potassium, and vitamin C. Also has good amounts of folate, iron, and fiber.
- lemon juice.,
Happy Cooking! 
Roasted Chicken with Potato {Middle Eastern Style}
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken cut in 4 pieces (thighs & breasts)
- Potato cubes around 1 inch size of 2 large potato.
- 2 Tb olive oil
- 3 - 5 garlic cloves cut into halves
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Salt and pepper
- 2 Tb of Coriander powder,
- 2 Tb of Arabic 7 spice mix (or a mix of these ground spices: Black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, coriander, cumin, nutmeg)
- Fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
- 1 garlic head with skin on
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix half amounts of spices and olive oil.
- In a baking dish, put the chicken, and rub it with spice mixture. If you want to keep the skin on as I did, make pokes with a sharp knife in the skin, And make sure to rub under the skin too.
- Leave it at least an hour (few hours will gives you better and stronger flavors).
- If you want to use iron skillet -as I did- marinate the chicken, in a separate dish.
- Now, in the baking dish or the iron skillet, add potato cubes, garlic, fresh cilantro eaves, and the rest of olive oil, spices and mix well.
- Put it in the oven at 180C , for an hour or more, depends on your oven.
- Check after an hour, if the chicken is done, if so, put it on the broiler for 5 mins, both sides, to get a nice golden color.
- Serve hot, with a side of yogurt, salad or white rice.
- Keep any leftover sin air tight container in the fridge up to two days , or in the freezer for longer time.
