Garlic, Lemon and Rosemary Chicken

I catered for a family get-together this weekend. This marinade on roast chicken drumsticks worked well on the buffet. The rosemary was a last-minute flash of inspiration.


The night before:

First make the marinade.

• About half a bulb of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped.
• A couple of fluid ounces of bottled lemon juice.
• A couple of fluid ounces of olive oil.
• Salt, lots of black pepper, and a couple of teaspoons of sumaq.
• A couple of soft flexible young sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped.

Combine all ingredients in a jug and blend til emulsified and creamy.

Put raw chicken drumsticks into a large ziploc bag and pour over the marinade.
Zip up the bag, squeezing out the air so that the marinade sits round the chicken.
Massage it a bit to ensure all the chicken is well coated in marinade.
Pop into the refridgerator to marinate.

On the day:

Preheat oven to 180C.
Dump the chicken out of the ziploc bag into a roasting tin and spread out evenly.
Bake until the meat is mostly cooked, about 30-40 minutes.
Turn up the heat to 200C.
Bake for another 15-20 minutes until the skin is getting golden and crispy.

The marinade would also work on chicken breasts or boneless thighs for the barbecue.