Sumac Chicken with Bread Salad

I know. You are relieved to see a cooking post today and not a post on my Kuala Terengganu trip hah..hah...hah... But I am only giving you a brief repite because I have more Kuala Terengganu posts coming up so brace yourselves...

This dish came about after I bought a spice from a shopping trip in Kuala Terengganu. I was at Paya Bunga Square when I spotted Sumac...

.... at this little shop..

I got to know about sumac when I read Joyce's post and her beautiful bread salad got me curious. I was not able to find sumac until that day at Paya Bunga Square.

Once I got home, I looked for recipes using sumac. This recipe caught my eye and I earmarked it for lunch on Saturday. I was too lazy to go to the supermarket and I poked around in my freezer. The only thing chicken I had was a packet of wings. It's chicken, so it was all systems go.

For the bread, I used my favorite French Walnut Loaf which I bought from TK Confectionary. I love this bread, I can eat one whole loaf in one sitting. As you can see, half the loaf is missing hee..hee...

The dish turned out really well but chicken wings were not exactly suitable. Since I loved it so much, I made the dish again  the following day. This time with two big chicken legs. The chicken legs were marinated with sumac, garlic, salt and olive oil.

Bread tossed with sauteed onions before roasting with chicken.

The chicken is then placed on top of the bread, which has been cut into cubes and tossed with fried onions, garlic and parsley. Then roast the whole lot at 180C for 40-45 minutes.

Place marinated chicken on top of the bread cubes.

Once the chicken is cooked, it is set aside to rest and the bread is tossed together with cucumber, tomatoes, parsley and lemon juice. This bread salad is served with the roasted chicken. 

The bread which is underneath the chicken is moist and soggy from absorbing the chicken juices while the rest of the bread becomes toasted and crunchy.

This was my first attempt with chicken wings.

It wasn't very well executed because I did not use enough onions and the wings were marinated with only sumac, salt and olive oil (as per the recipe). I felt that it needed garlic. I can't live without garlic and hence I added garlic to the marinade.

The bread salad was really gorgeous. So very delicious! It is salty and tangy and the crunch that comes from the toasted bread adds on to the enjoyment.

Now, about the sumac. I don't know how to describe it. It has a peculiar smell and upon tasting, it comes off as sourish. By itself, it did not make an impression on me. But used as a marinade, it made the chicken very tasty. And still I don't know how to describe it hah..hah...

But no matter. You will just have to taste it yourself. I still have quite a bit of sumac leftover and I will use this opportunity to explore more recipes using sumac.

Sumac Chicken with Bread Salad

Recipe source : Adapted from CHOW

Ingredients :

- 2 chicken legs

- 1 tablespoon sumac

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- salt to taste

- freshly cracked black pepper to taste

- Crusty bread, cut into 1/2" cubes

- 2 big onions, sliced

- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

- Italian parsley, chopped

- Japanese cucumber, cut into cubes

- tomatoes, cut into cubes

- lemon juice to taste

Method :

1. Mix sumac, olive oil, minced garlic, slat and pepper together to make the marinade. Adjust seasoning to taste.

2. Rub marinade all over the chicken and set aside or leave in the fridge to marinate overnight.

3. Heat oil in a pan and saute the sliced onions until soft and slightly browned.

4. Add garlic and parsley and saute for just a short while, about 1 minute. 

5. Add the sauteed onions/garlic to the bread cubes and toss to mix.

6. Place the bread in a single layer on a baking tray and place the chicken legs on top of the bread.

7. Roast at 180C for 40-45 minutes until chicken is fully cooked.

8. Once done, set aside the chicken to rest. 

9. In a mixing bowl, toss cucumber, tomatoes and bread with lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.