Za'atar Roasted Chicken

I visited the Chef`s Warehouse (www.chefswarehouse.co.za) in Cape Town the other day. This place is heaven for a foodie, coffee is offered when you walk in and then you browse amazing kitchen tools, knives and dishes then move onto beautiful Imported and Local Recipe Books ( this I am happy about because as much as I actually do love Jamie Oliver and his Books, here you will find the real chef books like Charlie Trotter, Jason Atherton and El Bulli books to name a few). Around the corner are gourmet ingredients like Truffle oils, unusual flours, seeds, nuts, oils and vinegars etc.
I however was gripped by the unusual spices which I had read about but not ever tasted, so I bought the more unsual ones. You buy by weight so I took a little to try but will definately go back for more. I went home with Sumac which is know to have an astrin­gent-acidic flavour, Pippali also known as the long pepper is similiar to our Black pepper but is a bit hotter, Lastly I bought Za'atar which is a mixture of sumac, thyme, sesame seeds, marjoram, oregano and salt.

I figured the most neautral food to try out my spices and take a picture while I am at it would be Chicken so here is My recipe for Za'atar Roasted Chicken and to compliment this I made a red onion and tomato salad, Tzatziki and roast potatoes.

Za'atar Roasted Chicken

1 Whole Free Range Chicken
1 Lemon, zest and juice
4 Cloves Garlic chopped
2 Tbls Za'atar
80ml Olive oil
Salt and Pippali or Black Pepper

2 Carrots sliced
1 Onion sliced
5 Garlic Cloves
2 sprigs Rosemary

Clean inside the chicken and Spatchcock ( Cut out the back bone and flatten the chicken)
Mix all the other ingredients and rub it all over the chicken.

Place the Carrots, onion, garlic and rosemary in the bottom of a roasting pan.
Lie the spatchcock Chicken ontop and roast for 45 minutes to 1 Hour on 180 degrees.

Baste the chicken halfway through cooking time.
Joint the chicken and serve with the above suggestions and lemon wedges.

This will also be delicious shredded and served inside pita breads with tomato salsa, tzatziki and crispy onion rings.....hhhmmm will try this next time for sure.