Musakhan (sumac chicken)
Palestinian sumac chicken roasted over a pile of sweet, jammy red onions, served on crisp flatbread with toasted pine nuts and cool yogurt.
- 60 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $4.59 a serving
- 700 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ lb boneless chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
- 3 tbsp ground sumac, divided
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 3 red onions, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 4 pita bread
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ⅓ cup olive oil, divided
Each serving has about 700 calories, 45 g protein, 56 g carbs and 33 g fat, and costs about $4.59 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No boneless chicken thighs? Chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins work.
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No pita bread? Flour tortillas work.
- No plain yogurt? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 425°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
the chicken with 2 tablespoons of the sumac, the allspice, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of the salt, the pepper and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Wash your hands.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
On a rimmed , the onions with 3 tablespoons of the oil, the last tablespoon of sumac and 1 teaspoon salt. Spread them out and lay the chicken on top in one layer.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Dolly’s tip: It looks like far too many onions. They melt down into the best part of the dish.25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is 165°F and the onions are soft and browned at the edges.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Timer: 27 min 30 sec
Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a dry over medium 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until golden. Tip them onto a plate.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Pine nuts go from golden to burnt in seconds, so don’t walk away.Move the chicken to a board.
Stir the onions into the pan juices, then push them to one side and lay the pitas on the pan.
Spoon the onions over the pitas and with the last of the oil.
Drizzle. Drizzling means pouring a thin, slow stream over the top of something. A thin stream spreads a little flavor a long way.
How you’ll know: You see thin lines across the food, not a puddle collecting underneath.
5 to 6 minutes, until the edges of the bread are crisp. Meanwhile, the chicken.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Timer: 5 min 30 sec
Top the onion flatbreads with the chicken, pine nuts and parsley, and serve with the yogurt and lemon wedges.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
