Warm maftool salad with za’atar chicken recipe
Maftool is a plump and round Palestinian couscous made from wheat flour. Sometimes labelled as ‘giant couscous’ (and even Isreali couscous) in the West, it is a wonderfully versatile ingredient with a texture similar to pasta, so it keeps its bite and shape when cooked.
This flavoursome dish sings with the bright flavours of tangy sumac and aromatic fresh herbs. This recipe uses wholewheat maftool, as it gives a slightly nuttier taste and texture, but if you are using regular maftool, simply reduce the volume of cooking liquid a little.
Note: this recipe requires at least 2 hours marinating time.
Recipe from Zaitoun: Recipes and Stories from the Palestinian Kitchen by Yasmin Khan. Published by Bloomsbury on 12 July 2018, RRP £26.
Ingredients
For the maftool salad- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 1 drizzle light olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 0.5 tsp ground allspice
- 250 g wholewheat maftool (giant couscous)
- 500 ml chicken stock
- 150 g green beans, trimmed
- 1 tbsp sumac
- 1 lemon (juice only)
- 100 g rocket
- 15 g parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 15 g mint leaves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 chicken legs on the bone (thigh and drumstick attached), skin on
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 4 tbsp za'atar
- 1 lime (juice only)
- 1 pinch sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Details
- Cuisine: Palestinian
- Recipe Type: Chicken
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 25 mins
- Cooking Time: 65 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Using a sharp knife, slash the thigh of each chicken leg diagonally in 3–4 places, cutting down to the bone. Place the chicken in a bowl or plastic food container, drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil, garlic, za’atar and lime juice and season with 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.
- With your hands, rub the marinade into the chicken, then cover and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or up to 6 hours, for the flavours to infuse the meat.
- When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F/gas mark 6. Place the chicken legs in a roasting tray and bake for around 35 minutes, or until the juices from the chicken run clear when pierced at their thickest part.
- Meanwhile, fry the onions in 2 tablespoons light olive oil for 15 minutes, until they are soft. Add the garlic and allspice and fry for a further 2 minutes. Then pour in the maftool, stock and 100ml water and stir well. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until the maftool is soft and all the cooking liquid has evaporated.
- As varieties of maftool can vary, check on it after 15 minutes and splash in a touch more water if the pan dries out before the grains are ready.
- Chop the green beans into 4cm (1.5 inch) long pieces. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the beans until they are just tender but still have some bite; depending on the variety, this can take 3–6 minutes. Drain well.
- When the maftool has cooled a little, transfer to a serving bowl and add the sumac, lemon juice, green beans, rocket, parsley, mint and extra virgin olive oil, stirring in 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning as you like.
- When the chicken has cooked, leave it to rest for 5 minutes before serving it with the maftool salad, spooning the chicken juices over each leg just before you tuck in.
This recipe is from Zaitoun: Recipes and Stories from the Palestinian Kitchen by Yasmin Khan. Published by Bloomsbury on 12 July 2018, RRP £26. Photography by Matt Russell.
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