Name: Chicken with lemons, sumac & spiced yogurt
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 large free-range chicken (about 1.5kg/3lb 5oz in size); 3 lemons cut into eights; handful black, pitted olives; 3 small shallots peeled and left whole; 6 garlic cloves peeled and squashed; 2 tbsp sumac (see Know-how, below); 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 tsp each ground coriander and cumin; ½ tsp each ground turmeric and mustard seeds; ½ tsp chilli powder mild or hot, depending on taste; 500g pot natural yogurt; 1 long red chilli thinly sliced; bunch spring onions sliced

Home
Recipes
Chicken with lemons, sumac & spiced yogurt

Chicken with lemons, sumac & spiced yogurt

John Torode

Save recipe

Serves 4

Easy

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 1 hr and 30 mins

A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.11 ratingsRate

loading...

Love roast chicken but want to give it a summer twist? John Torode, MasterChef judge and chef shows you how

Skip to ingredients

Alternatives

Complete the dish

Showing items 1 to 3 of 3

Crushed new potatoes

A star rating of 4.5 out of 5.20 ratings

Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

1 large free-range chicken

(about 1.5kg/3lb 5oz in size)
3 lemons

cut into eights
handful black, pitted olives
3 small shallots

peeled and left whole
6 garlic cloves

peeled and squashed
2 tbsp sumac

(see Know-how, below)
1 tbsp vegetable oil

For the spiced yoghurt

1 tsp each ground coriander

and cumin
½ tsp each ground turmeric

and mustard seeds
½ tsp chilli powder

mild or hot, depending on taste
500g pot natural yogurt
1 long red chilli

thinly sliced
bunch spring onions

sliced

Keep the screen awake with cook mode on the Good Food app.

Nutrition: per serving

kcal537
fat30g
saturates10g
carbs12g
sugars11g
fibre1g
protein56g
salt0.66g

low

Method

step 1

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Two things happen to the chicken. First, season the inside. In a bowl mix the lemons, olives, shallots and garlic with half the sumac and some salt. Scrunch them all together and add 1 tbsp of water. Open the bird up and pour the mix into the cavity.
step 2

Then the outside. Take the oil and the rest of the sumac and rub onto the chicken, massaging it into every part possible. Roast for 11⁄2 hrs or until cooked through and the juices run clear when a skewer is inserted into the thickest part of the leg.
step 3

While the chicken is cooking, mix all the ingredients for the spiced yogurt with some salt – if you like it a little milder, deseed the chilli before slicing it. Carve the chicken and serve topped with a dollop of the yogurt.

RECIPE TIPS

KNOW-HOW

Sumac is a powdered spice from the Middle East. Its sour, lemony flavour works well with chicken and lamb as well as rice and pulses. Find it at specialist food shops or order online from thespiceshop.co.uk. If you can’t find any, then finely grated lemon zest can be added, but you won’t get the same ‘bronzed’ colour on the chicken’s skin.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, June 2011

Comments, questions and tips

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?1 star out of 52 stars out of 53 stars out of 54 stars out of 55 stars out of 5

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

CommentQuestionTip

Overall rating

A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.11 ratings

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access for just £6. Find triple-tested recipes that take the stress out of deciding what to cook, spend less time planning, and more time enjoying the season.

Subscribe now