This being the month of Christmas, a holiday celebrated among 160 of the 195 countries that make up this planet, I’ve decided to do a monthly installment of how different countries around the world celebrate this special holiday in their kitchens and feature their signature holiday meals. Some may be sides, some may be mains, maybe a dessert or two, some may be a complete dinner. Only time will tell by which country my girls have randomly pulled out of Santa’s hat.
Even though Israel is a host of many towns and other geographic features in the Bible, there are not many Christians to be found, and therefore Christmas is not a hugely celebrated holiday. In my research, I found one of the main items typically served is a seasoned and stuffed chicken. Although, the chicken is seasoned with spices we normally wouldn’t adorn the skin with, here in the states, nor is it stuffed with bread, but herbed almond rice. This was a welcomed twist on a classic chicken dinner.
Israeli Spiced and Stuffed Chicken
You need to make the rice ahead of time for this recipe, or if you want to forgo the traditional method, season and pop the bird into the oven and make your rice to serve as a side. I used a smaller organic chicken, so if you use a typical (larger) bird you’d normally find in the grocery store, you’ll need to increase the cooking time.
Rice
3 tbsp butter
Small, yellow onion, minced
1.5 cups long grain rice
Garlic
Thyme
2.25 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
Lemon
¼ cup roasted, salted almonds
Parsley and Dill
Chicken
Olive oil
1 whole chicken
Kosher salt
Black Pepper
Sumac
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
In a small pot, melt the butter over medium heat and sauté the onion, with a pinch of salt, for a few minutes. Add in the rice and stir to coat with the butter and toast the rice for a few more minutes.
Stir in 2 cloves of minced garlic and 1 tsp of minced thyme leaves, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Then, stir in the grated zest of 1 lemon, 1 tsp salt, and the broth. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat thereafter and let the pot sit for an additional 10 mins.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Roughly chop your almonds with a chef’s knife. Mince a large handful of parsley leaves and about a tablespoon of dill. Reserve.
Prepare the bird by drying the skin and interior cavity. Rub the bottom of the chicken with olive oil and season with the spices. Place in a casserole dish while you wait for the rice to cool down.
Once the rice has rested for 10 minutes, fluff and stir in the reserved almonds and herbs. Spoon about 1.5 cups into a bowl. Reserve the remaining rice in the pot.
Using your hands or a spoon, stuff the rice into the chicken, pressing it down to ensure all (or most) of the rice gets into the chicken. Place the chicken into the casserole dish, breast-side up, rub some olive oil onto the skin and season with all of the spices.
Place in the oven on the middle rack. After 30 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Check the temperature of the chicken after about 1 hour and 15 minutes. When the chicken has reached temperature, set aside to rest for 15 minutes.
To serve, carve the chicken and serve with the stuffed rice. If you need more rice, use the reserves in the pot.
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Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.