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Halal-conscious recipe

Za'atar and lemon chicken traybake

Suzanne Mulholland's za'atar and lemon chicken traybake with Halal chicken: thighs, potato wedges, red onion, olives and lemon tossed in a za'atar, sumac, paprika and garlic paste, roasted on one tray and served with gelatine-free yogurt.

  • Cuisine Levantine
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 4 plates
  • Time 50 min
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
A whole roast chicken in a black cast-iron pan with parsley, on a dark wooden table
Photograph from our ingredient library: a roast chicken, not the finished dish from this recipe.

Why Halal checks matter here

The tray is 8 bone-in chicken thighs, which are Halal only from Halal-slaughtered birds, served with natural yogurt, which needs a gelatin check.

Bone-in chicken thighs, parboiled potato wedges, red onion, olives and lemon slices are tossed in a paste of za'atar, sumac, paprika, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, then roasted together on one tray until golden and finished with parsley and yogurt. The source describes the spicing as Lebanese. The chicken needs a Halal source, and the yogurt should have no gelatin on its label.

It follows Suzanne Mulholland's za'atar and lemon chicken traybake for BBC Good Food, which serves four. The source calls it a prep-ahead meal: coat everything in the paste in advance, then tip it onto a tray to roast when you are ready.

Scatter with parsley and serve with yogurt.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Chicken thighs Chicken is a Halal bird, but slaughter decides, and chicken without a Halal mark doesn't say how the bird was slaughtered. Buy the chicken from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Chicken.
  • Natural yogurt Plain yogurt is milk fermented with cultures, but gelatin turns up in set, low-fat and dessert yogurts. Choose a yogurt with no gelatin on the label. See Yogurt.

Safe substitutes

  • Chicken thighs of unknown slaughter → 8 Halal bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

Allergens

milk (yogurt to serve)

Ingredients

Traybake

  • 4 medium floury potatoes, cut into wedges
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp za'atar
  • 2 tsp sumac
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 lemons (1 juiced, 1 sliced)
  • 8 Halal bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • 2 red onions, cut into chunks
  • 100 g mixed olives, pitted

To serve

  • small handful parsley, finely chopped
  • to serve natural yogurt with no gelatine

Method

  1. Parboil the potatoes. Put the potato wedges in a pan of salted cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and leave to cool.
  2. Coat in the spice paste. Mix the olive oil, za'atar, sumac, paprika, garlic, lemon juice and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl to make a paste. Add the chicken, red onion, olives and sliced lemon, tip in the cooled potatoes and toss everything well in the paste.
  3. Roast. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 4. Tip everything onto a baking tray with the chicken thighs on top and roast for 35 to 40 minutes until golden.
  4. Serve. Scatter with the parsley and top with some yogurt. Otherwise, leave it to cool, put it in a container and freeze.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Za'atar & lemon chicken traybake' by Suzanne Mulholland, which describes its spicing as Lebanese (serves 4: 4 medium floury potatoes in wedges brought to the boil in salted cold water, cooked 3 minutes, drained and cooled; 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp za'atar, 2 tsp sumac, 1 tsp paprika, 2 crushed garlic cloves, the juice of 1 lemon and 1 tsp salt mixed to a paste; 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, 2 red onions in chunks, 100 g pitted mixed olives, the second lemon sliced and the potatoes tossed in it; tipped onto a baking tray with the chicken on top and roasted 35 to 40 minutes at 200C/180C fan/gas 4 until golden; finished with a small handful of chopped parsley and natural yogurt, or cooled and frozen). We specified Halal chicken and a gelatine-free yogurt; the last published step is split between roasting and serving. Nothing else needed changing. The source calls it a prep-ahead one-pan meal to tip onto a tray when you are ready. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Za'atar & lemon chicken traybake — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    By Suzanne Mulholland, described as combining Lebanese spices with crispy chicken and vegetables. Serves 4, prep 15 minutes, cook 35 minutes: potato wedges parboiled 3 minutes; za'atar, sumac, paprika, garlic, lemon, oil and salt paste; chicken thighs, red onion, olives, sliced lemon and potatoes tossed in it and roasted 35 to 40 minutes at 200C; parsley and yogurt. We specified Halal chicken and a gelatine-free yogurt.

  2. Chicken analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    What makes chicken Halal: the slaughter.

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