Musakhan (مسخن) — Sumac Chicken on Shrak Bread

• 1500 gbone-in skin-on chicken pieces
• 16 gfine sea salt
• 2 tspfreshly ground black pepper
• 2 tspground allspice
• 0.5 tspground cinnamon
• 0.5 tspground cardamom
• 40 gground sumac
• 180 mlextra-virgin olive oil
• 1000 gyellow onions (thinly sliced)
• 300 mlunsalted chicken stock
• 2 leafbay leaves
• 1 stickcinnamon
• 5 podgreen cardamom (lightly crushed)
• 50 gpine nuts
• 4shrak bread rounds (large 35 cm rounds; also called markook)
• 30 mlfresh lemon juice
• 6 sprigflat-leaf parsley (leaves chopped)

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 220 C. Pat the chicken dry, then rub it with 8 g salt, the black pepper, allspice, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, 10 g sumac, and 30 ml olive oil until every piece is evenly coated.

2. 2

   Arrange the chicken skin-side up in a roasting pan and pour the chicken stock around, not over, the pieces. Add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pods, cover tightly with foil, and roast for 35 minutes.

3. 3

   Remove the foil and continue roasting for 18 minutes, or until the thickest chicken piece reaches 74 C and the skin is lightly browned. Transfer the chicken to a plate and strain the pan juices, reserving 180 ml of the aromatic liquid for the bread and onions.

4. 4

   While the chicken roasts, heat 130 ml olive oil in a wide heavy pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and the remaining 8 g salt, then cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the onions are soft, glossy, and sweet but not deeply browned.

5. 5

   Stir the remaining 30 g sumac and the lemon juice into the onions, then add 120 ml of the reserved chicken pan juices. Cook for 4 minutes more so the sumac blooms in the olive oil and the onions become a spoonable, brick-red mixture.

6. 6

   Heat the remaining 20 ml olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat and add the pine nuts. Toast for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until golden, then immediately transfer them to a plate so they do not darken further.

7. 7

   Lower the oven to 200 C and place the shrak or markook bread rounds on a large baking sheet, overlapping them slightly if needed. Spoon 60 ml reserved pan juices over the bread, spread on most of the sumac onions, and set the roasted chicken pieces on top.

8. 8

   Bake the assembled musakhan for 10 minutes, just long enough for the bread edges to crisp while the center stays soaked with onion oil and chicken juices. Scatter the toasted pine nuts and parsley over the top, then serve immediately from the tray in the Jordanian family-table style.