Middle Eastern Chicken Pilaf

Step 1

Make the marinade. In a small bowl, add all of the marinade ingredients. Mix. Reserve 2-3 tablespoons of marinade for the potatoes.

Step 2

Marinade the chicken. Place a few spoonfuls of the marinade onto the chicken. Rub the marinade all over the chicken, even under the skin. It's best to let the chicken rest in the marinade for at least 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge. If you're short on time you can skip this step.

Step 3

Bake chicken. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Place the chicken into a baking dish. Cover with foil then place the chicken into the oven⏤set timer for 25 minutes.

Step 4

Prepare potatoes. Cut the potatoes into wedges or cubes. Each potato should give you 6 wedges or 8 cubes. Place the potatoes into a bowl then add the reserved marinade to the potatoes. mix and set aside.

Step 5

Remove chicken pan drippings. After 25 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven. Lift the corner of the foil and leave the rest of the foil in tack. Carefully pour out the stock from the pan into a large measure cup until you have about 1/2 cup of stock from the chicken juices.

Step 6

Bake the potatoes. Remove the foil from the chicken. Add the marinated potatoes to the pan with the chicken. Reseal the foil and continue cooking. Cover the chicken and potatoes with foil and continue baking for 30 minutes.

Step 7

Start the rice. Once you've placed the potatoes in the oven, then start the rice. Heat a 3 qt pot over medium-high heat add the olive oil, ghee and onions. Cook the onions until golden, then add the spices. Stir. Add the rice, then stir until the spices coat the rice. Pour 2½ cups of water over the rice and the chicken pan drippings and bring to a light simmer. Cover the rice and cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the rice from heat, add cloth over the pot, and rest for 10 minutes.

Step 8

Toast almonds if using. Heat a large non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat add oil and the almond slivers. Toast almonds until golden. Once the Almonds are toasted, remove them from the oil and set them aside.

Step 9

Prepare the carrot topping. Add the carrots and spices to the pan used for the almonds. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, then add the raisins and continue cooking for 3 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat, add the almond into the pan and set aside until ready to use.

Step 10

Assemble the pilaf and chicken. Empty the rice onto a large platter, then add chicken onto the middle of the rice. Place the potatoes in a circular pattern around the chicken. Scoop the carrot mixture and place it on top of the chicken and potatoes.

Step 11

Serve.