Wild Thyme Chicken

Name: Wild Thyme Chicken
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Lebanese
Ingredients: 2 loaves of warm Arabic Bread; 1 tbsp Wild Thyme Mixture; 1 chicken, about 1.5 kg/3 lb 5 oz; 120 ml/4 fl oz/½ cup olive oil; juice of 2 lemons; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 2 tsp sumac, for dusting; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; lemon wedges; Garlic Gone Wild; Fattoush Salad or Tabbouleh Salad; Swimming Chickpeas or Warm Hummus in a Cumin & Olive Oil Broth; selection of mixed pickles, such as pickled cucumbers, pickled turnips and banana peppers

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
1 hr 25

Appears in

The Jewelled Kitchen

By Bethany Kehdy

Published 2013

About

I grew up eating this dish from the Farouj el Lala restaurant, at that time a humble hole in the wall, in Ashrafieh, Beirut. For the best results, cook the chicken on a barbecue using barbecue mesh graspers.

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
juice of 2 lemons
120 ml/

Asia
Lebanon
Beirut
Ashrafieh
Main course
Mediterranean

Method

Put the garlic, lemon juice and olive oil in a small non-metallic bowl, mix well and set aside to let the flavours develop.
Spatchcock the chicken by placing it breast-side down with the drumsticks facing you. Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut through the small rib bones around one side of the backbone. Repeat on the other side and then remove the backbone. T