Musakhan (Palestinian Sumac Chicken on Taboon Bread)

About This Recipe

Musakhan is the dish that defines Palestinian cuisine — a celebration of the olive harvest, made in November when the year's new oil is first pressed. The name comes from the Arabic 'sakhan' meaning 'to heat,' and historically it was prepared in the village taboon (clay oven) using the fresh pressed olive oil, the year's first sumac harvest, and locally raised chickens. The technique is deceptively simple: yellow onions are cooked low and slow in shocking quantities of olive oil with sumac and allspice until they collapse into a deep purple-brown jam, then spread thickly over taboon bread (a chewy flatbread baked on pebbles), topped with roasted chicken thighs, and showered with more sumac and toasted pine nuts. Palestinians eat musakhan with their hands, tearing the bread, scooping the onions, pulling apart the chicken — it is profoundly communal, and most Palestinian families have a strong opinion about whose grandmother's version is the best.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 8bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (about 1.4 kg)
• 180 mlgood quality extra-virgin olive oil, ideally Palestinian or Lebanese(yes, this much — it's the point)
• 1.5 kgyellow onions (about 6 large), thinly sliced
• 5 tbspground sumac, divided
• 2 tspground allspice
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 2 tspfine salt, plus more to taste
• 1 tspfreshly ground black pepper
• 4 largetaboon, naan, or thick pita breads
• 80 gpine nuts
• 1 tbspbutter, for toasting pine nuts
• plain yogurt, to serve
• 1lemon, cut into wedges

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the chicken

   Toss chicken thighs with 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp sumac, allspice, cumin, cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, and the pepper. Massage in well and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes (or refrigerate up to overnight).

2. 2

   Start the onions — the long way

   Heat the remaining olive oil in a wide heavy skillet over medium-low. Add all sliced onions and 1 tsp salt. They will look like too much; they're not. Cook 40 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the onions collapse to a quarter of their volume and turn deep golden-brown with the consistency of jam.

   If the onions threaten to burn, lower the heat. Slow is the entire point — fast onions give a sharp, watery result.

3. 3

   Sumac the onions

   Stir in 3 tbsp of the sumac and the remaining salt. Cook 5 more minutes — the onions will turn a striking burgundy-purple. Taste; they should be sweet, tart, and slightly sticky. Set aside.

4. 4

   Roast the chicken

   Heat oven to 220°C. Arrange chicken skin-side up on a parchment-lined tray. Roast 35–40 minutes until skin is deep brown and crisp and juices run clear. The thighs should reach 75°C internal.

5. 5

   Toast pine nuts

   Melt butter in a small pan over medium-low. Add pine nuts and toast, stirring constantly, 2–3 minutes until golden — they go from pale to mahogany fast, so watch carefully.

6. 6

   Assemble

   Warm the taboon breads briefly in the oven. Lay them on a large platter, slightly overlapping. Spread the sumac-onion mixture thickly over the breads, edge to edge. Arrange the roast chicken thighs on top.

7. 7

   Finish

   Pour any chicken roasting juices over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tbsp sumac and the toasted pine nuts. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and yogurt.

Variations

• •

  Wrap version (musakhan rolls): roll filling inside individual flatbreads and bake — popular street-food version.

• •

  Add 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses to the onions for a more West Bank style.

• •

  Serve over fresh-baked manakish dough instead of taboon for a thicker bite.

Storage

Best fresh. Components separately: onions keep 4 days refrigerated, chicken 3 days. Reheat chicken in a 180°C oven 12 minutes; warm onions in a skillet with a splash of olive oil.

Frequently Asked Questions