Somali Style Roast Chicken (Digaag La Foorneeyay)
This is some of the best roasted chicken I’ve made. Xawaash is the main flavor component of the marinade. Rub the marinade underneath the skin of the chicken and all over the outside. The chicken specifically needs to be roasted on a rack to get the skin crispy all over. Roast for 60 minutes. Underneath that rack, place potatoes or your favorite vegetable and roast with the chicken juices dripping on top of them for another 30 minutes.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 lb roasting chicken
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp butter melted
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp xawaash plus more
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 4 medium potatoes cut into wedges
Instructions
- Mix all of the marinade ingredients together.
- Spoon a couple of large tbsp underneath the skin of the chicken. Rub it all over the meat. Rub the remaining marinade over the entire skin of the chicken. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the chicken on a rack on a pan lined in foil. Roast for 60 minutes.
- At the 1 hour mark, take the rack with the chicken off of the pan. Add the potato wedges, coating with the pan drippings. Season with salt and sprinkle 2 tsp of the xawaash over the potatoes. Place the chicken and rack back on top of the potatoes and roast for another 30 minutes.
- Let the chicken rest for at least 15 minutes before serving to redistribute the juices.
