← Nouns Cooking · Lebanese & Turkish

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg bone-in chicken pieces (or a small chicken, quartered)
• 1 Onion, halved
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 2 Bay leaves
• 3 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 3 whole cloves
• 1.75 l Water
• 2 tsp salt, divided
• 30 g Butter
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 300 g lamb or beef mince
• 1 tsp allspice or Lebanese seven spice
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 400 g long-grain rice, rinsed and drained
• 2 tbsp olive oil or butter, for the nuts
• 50 g flaked or slivered almonds
• 40 g Pine nuts
• 30 g Cashews (optional)

Method

1. Put the chicken, halved onion, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, water and 1 tsp salt in a large pot. Bring to the boil, skim off the foam, then simmer gently for 40–45 min until the chicken is tender and reaches 75°C (165°F).
2. Lift out the chicken, strain the broth and keep 750 ml of it hot. Pull the meat into large shreds, discarding skin and bones, and moisten it with a ladle of broth.
3. Melt the butter with the oil in a wide pot over medium heat and cook the chopped onion for 5 min. Add the mince and brown for 6–8 min, breaking it up, then stir in the allspice, cinnamon and pepper.
4. Stir in the rice for 2 min until glossy. Pour in the 750 ml hot broth with the remaining salt, bring to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 18–20 min until the liquid is absorbed. Rest, covered, for 10 min.
5. Meanwhile, toast the almonds, pine nuts and cashews in the oil over medium-low heat for 3–4 min, stirring, until golden. Tip onto a plate straight away so they do not burn.
6. Spoon the rice onto a big platter, pile the chicken on top and shower with the nuts. Serve with yogurt and a crisp salad.

Tips

• Keep the leftover broth for soup or to reheat the rice.
• Contains almonds, pine nuts and cashews.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

SBS Food Zaatar and Zaytoun