Spiced chicken

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 chicken or poularde (approx. 2 kg)
• 1 kg potatoes
• 2 lemons, untreated
• 8 garlic cloves
• 6 onions
• e.g. olive oil
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 slices ginger root
• 6 tbsp vermouth (Noilly Prat)
• 5 sage leaves
• 6 sprigs of thyme
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 2 tsp smoked paprika powder
• 1 tsp paprika powder, hot
• 2 tsp curry powder (lemon curry)
• 2 tsp spice mix (baharat or chili, cardamom, cinnamon, paprika)
• 1 tsp cardamom seeds
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp harissa or chili
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours

Remove the cardamom seeds from the pods and lightly crush them with a mortar and pestle. Make the spiced oil: Finely chop 3 garlic cloves and the ginger slices. Grate the zest and juice of one lemon, mix together, and add about 5 tablespoons of oil and the Noilly Prat. Then mix all the spices, sugar, honey, and finely chopped herbs well. The mixture should not be too runny, so it sticks to the chicken, but not too dry either; you may want to add a little more oil. Cut the chicken (in my case, a 2.5 kg farm chicken) or a similarly sized poulard in half along the back and “unfold” it, season with salt, and rub with the spiced oil. Peel and halve the potatoes. Slice the remaining garlic cloves, wedge the onions, and thinly slice 1 lemon. Mix everything with about 3-4 tablespoons of oil and a little salt. Spread on a baking sheet, tucking in a few small sage leaves. Place the chicken on top and drizzle the drained spiced oil over the potatoes. Place the chicken in the oven preheated to 180°C (top/bottom heat) and roast for about 90 minutes, basting with the meat juices occasionally. Once the chicken is cooked, grill it for about another 10 minutes to crisp up the skin.