Israeli Roast Chicken Food

ISRAELI ROAST CHICKEN RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Season both sides of the chicken thighs evenly with paprika, salt, and pepper.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for five minutes.
• Meanwhile, arrange the rosemary sprigs, unpeeled garlic cloves, and sliced red onion in the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.
• Place four of the chicken thighs into the pan. Let cook for 2 minutes per side, or until browned. You do not need to cook the chicken all the way through, you just want to get some good color on the outside. Once browned, remove the chicken pieces from the skillet and place on top of the bed of rosemary, garlic, and onion in the baking dish.
• Repeat with the remaining four chicken thighs. You may need to overlap the thighs a bit to fit them all into the pan.
• Place all eight browned chicken thighs in the baking dish into the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Increase heat to 375 and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit).

ISRAELI SPICE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Israeli Spice Rub:
• For the spice rub combine the paprika, cumin, oregano, coriander, crushed red pepper flakes, and kosher salt in a bowl. Place in a sealable jar, keep in a cool dry place for up to 6 months.
• Place chicken in a shallow dish. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil to barely coat the meat. Rub chicken liberally with 4 tablespoons of the spice blend. Let stand 10 minutes.
• Grill chicken 6 or 7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.
• Seed and chop the tomatoes and combine with onion and parsley in a shallow bowl. Combine oil, lemon juice, and spices in a small plastic container with a lid. Shake dressing to combine and pour over salad. Season salad with kosher salt and toss to combine well. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.

GARLIC CHICKEN WITH ISRAELI COUSCOUS

Steps:

• For the chicken: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place the garlic bulbs in the oven and roast until soft, about 30 minutes. Remove and let cool. When the bulbs are cool enough to handle, slice off the tops and squeeze the cloves into the bowl of a food processor.
• Add the lemon zest and juice, cumin, and crushed red pepper to the garlic. Season the mixture with salt and puree until smooth. While the machine is running, drizzle in 1/4 cup olive oil. Taste and reseason if needed.
• Place the chicken in a large dish or on a baking sheet and massage the garlic mixture onto the skin of each piece-really lube it up! Let the chicken sit at room temp for up to 2 hours or, if longer than 2 hours, in the fridge. HINT, HINT: This can be done WAY ahead of time!
• For the couscous:
• Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil-taste the water to make sure it is salty like the ocean! Add the couscous and cook until it's two-thirds of the way done, 5 to 6 minutes. Strain and reserve.
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil, toss in the onion and celery, and bring to medium-high heat. Season with salt and crushed red pepper and cook until soft, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Stir in the tomato paste, white wine, and saffron and cook for 3 to 4 more minutes.
• Toss in the zucchini, reserved couscous, pine nuts, thyme bundle, and bay leaf and stir to combine. Add 1 1/2 cups chicken stock and stir. The couscous should be a little soupy. If it isn't, add the remaining 1/2 cup chicken stock. Taste and reseason if needed. Remove and discard the bay leaf and the thyme bundle. Transfer the mixture to a large baking dish-one big enough to hold the chicken as well-and reserve.
• To assemble:
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring it to medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the chicken on all sides. Be patient, this may take up to 6 to 8 minutes. BE SURE not to crowd the pan. If you do, the chicken will steam and get soggy rather than brown and crispy . . . not yummy.
• Nestle the browned chicken skin side up in the prepared couscous. Cover with foil and place in the oven. Roast the chicken for 20 minutes, remove the foil, and roast for another 15 minutes.
• When the chicken is cooked through, remove from the oven and top with the chopped scallions and cilantro to serve.

GARLIC CHICKEN IN CASSEROLE WITH ISRAELI COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put the garlic bulbs in a small tin and roast them until they are soft when squeezed, about 30 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let cool.
• When the garlic bulbs are cool, slice the tops off and squeeze out the roasted garlic. Add the garlic to a food processor or a bowl, along with the lemon zest, lemon juice, thyme, cumin, crushed red pepper and salt, to taste. Add a little olive oil and puree or mash into a loose paste. Massage the mixture all over the chicken pieces and let sit for at least 1 hour.
• Bring a pot of well salted water to a boil, over medium heat. Add the couscous and cook it until it's about 2/3 of the way cooked, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain and reserve.
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and brown it on all sides. Remove it to a plate, drain the fat and add the onions and celery. Season with salt, to taste, and the crushed red pepper. Deglaze with white wine, scraping up all the crud on the bottom of the pan and cook the onions and celery for 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes. Add in the saffron, zucchini, cooked couscous, and chicken stock. Stir to combine, then taste and adjust seasoning, if needed. Transfer the mix to an ovenproof dish. Nestle the chicken, skin side up, in the couscous and cover with foil. Add some more chicken stock to keep everything nice and moist. Sprinkle with pine nuts and cover with foil. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan.
• Roast the chicken for 20 minutes, covered, then remove the foil and roast for another 10 to 15 minutes.
• Remove the chicken from the oven and top with scallions before serving.

ISRAELI ROAST DUCK (OR CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Rinse duck under cold water and pat dry inside and out. Remove excess fat from the bird.
• Season bird, inside and out, with salt and pepper and prick skin with a fork several times to allow fat to escape. Place orange quarters in cavity.
• In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and 1 teaspoon salt with 4 tablespoons orange juice.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place the sliced onion and carrot into a roasting pan and place duck on a rack on top.
• Roast duck 30 minutes then remove from oven. Pour off fat, prick skin again and baste with the orange juice mixture.
• Continue cooking, basting it and pouring off the fat every 20 minutes until it is well browned and skin is crisp, 1 1/2 hours or until it is done.
• Remove the duck to a platter and cover with foil. Let stand 15 minutes.
• Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan. Stir in flour. Cook, stirring and scraping the drippings from the pan about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining orange juice, chicken stock, vinegar and marmalade.
• Bring to a boil and simmer until well blended and thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.
• To serve, quarter the duck, or carve to your liking. Serve the gravy on the side.