Inspired by Ottolenghi’s Roast chicken with sumac, za’atar and lemon, from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook.

We’ve been trying to cook everything we can lay our hands on with our new(ish) Optimum Sous Vide, and it has become a staple of our kitchen counter. We’ve been a big fan of Ottolenghi’s Roast chicken with sumac, za’atar and lemon for a while, and when I was tasked with doing something interesting for dinner with a couple of chicken breasts the other night, I started experimenting. The results with the sous vide were incredible, so I thought I’d share my recipe.

Be aware that this was very much a riffed dish, and because it was created on the fly, the quantities for some of the ingredients (like oil and spices) are my best estimates. You may want to adjust the quantities to suit your preferences and the way the food behaves with your equipment.

Because the chicken breasts I used were so large, we had enough for leftovers the next day. We served that with a wholewheat couscous concoction and a spinach salad. Photos to follow below.

Sous vide chicken with sumac, za’atar and preserved lemon

Ingredients

For the chicken and sauce

• 2 large chicken breast fillets or chicken supremes, skin on
• 2 red onions, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1.5 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp sumac, plus extra for garnishing and searing
• Preserved lemon, equivalent to 1 lemon, finely chopped
• 200ml chicken or vegetable stock
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp za’atar, plus extra for garnishing
• 40g unsalted butter
• 50g pine nuts
• 1 large handful of freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Finely grated zest of half a lemon

For the tahini and yoghurt sauce

• 2 tbsp tahini
• 100g strained Greek yoghurt
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• Salt
• White pepper
• 1 tsp freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
• A pinch of sweet paprika
• Olive oil for drizzling

Special equipment

• Sous vide cooker/water bath
• Vacuum sealer

What to do

For the tahini and yoghurt sauce

1. Mix the tahini, yoghurt, lemon and garlic in a small bowl.
2. Add a very small amount of tap water and mix until the sauce is the consistency of a thick, unstrained yoghurt.
3. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.
4. Place in a fresh small bowl and garnish with the chopped parsley, a pinch of sweet paprika and a drizzle of olive oil.

For the chicken and sauce

1. In a large bowl, mix half of the crushed garlic with 2 tbsp olive oil, the white wine vinegar, allspice, cinnamon, sumac, za’atar and half of the preserved lemon. Top up with 60ml water, and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Adjust the ratio of the spices to taste, place the chicken in the bowl, and marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably more.
2. Pre-heat the water bath to 60 degrees Celsius.
3. Place the chicken breasts or supremes into two appropriately sized sous-vide bags with 1 tablespoon of the marinade in each bag and seal under full vacuum. Set aside the rest of the marinade.
4. Place the vacuum bags into the water bath for 45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in a heavy, cast-iron skillet, heat the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil on a medium/high heat and fry the onions and the remainder of the garlic together until the onions are beginning to dry out and brown. Stir the onions and garlic constantly during this time.
6. Meanwhile, in another smaller skillet, melt half of the butter under a moderate heat, and fry the pine nuts and a pinch of salt, stirring constantly, until they become golden. Set aside.
7. Once the onions have started to dry out and brown, lower the heat to medium and add the remainder of the butter, a pinch of salt and the remainder of the chopped preserved lemon, to taste. Stir for a couple of minutes until the butter melts and you can smell the aroma of the preserved lemons. Add the remainder of the marinade that you set aside earlier and the stock, then stir. Allow the sauce to reduce slightly for up to ten minutes. Taste, and add further spices or adjust the seasoning depending on your preferences. Cover and set aside until the chicken is ready.
8. Once the 45 minutes for the chicken has completed, remove the vacuum bags from the water bath. Open them, being careful to retain any juices. Set the chicken aside and pat dry with paper towel, and mix the retained juices from the bag into the skillet with the onions.
9. Gently bring the onions back up to temperature, covered, and heat another heavy cast-iron skillet on a high heat with a small amount of olive oil.
10. Sear the chicken breasts individually, starting with the skin side. Sear for 1.5-2 mins on the skin side, until golden and crispy, and for 1 minute on the non-skin side. Do not dry out the chicken, having taken so much care to cook it perfectly in the sous-vide. You just want to brown the exterior to develop the flavours associated with seared meat, because this won’t have happened during the sous-vide part of the process.
11. Take the onions off the heat and place the chicken breasts in the skillet with them. Spoon the onions and sauce over the chicken breasts, and garnish with the pine nuts, chopped parsley, sumac, za’atar and lemon zest. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with the tahini and yoghurt sauce, bulgur wheat and a robust kale salad. Eat with gusto and don’t forget to pick something nice to drink with it.

My leftovers, in all their fresh, punchy and zesty glory!