The recipe
Mou’sakhan
Caramelised onion tart with sumac roast chicken
Ingredients
(serves six)
Pastry
2.5 cups flour
2 tsp cracked black pepper
Salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup unsalted butter cubes
1 egg
40ml cold water
Onion topping
½ cup olive oli
8 medium onions, sliced thinly
4 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp sugar
Handful of thyme springs (leave to some garnish)
2 tbsp sumac
6 chicken breasts, on the bone
Fresh pomegranate seeds
½ cup toasted pine nuts
Method
1 Place flour, salt, black pepper and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Add butter cubes and rub the butter into the flour with fingertips until it’s a crumbly consistency. Add the egg and water. Mix to make a smooth dough.
2 Flatten the dough slightly into a disc and cover with cling-film.
3 Refrigerate for an hour before use.
4 Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5.
5 Roll out the pastry to fit two 33x9cm rectangular, false-bottom tart pans.
6 Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes, then line pastry with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
7 Turn down temperature to 180°C/350°F/ gas mark 4 and bake for an additional 15 minutes until the pastry is a golden colour.
8 Remove from the oven and, once cool, remove pastry from the pan.
9 Place the olive oil in a large, heavy pan and sauté the onions and garlic on a medium heat.
10 Sprinkle in the salt and sugar. Stir to coat the onions and turn heat to low.
11 Add fresh thyme and stir gently for about 40 minutes – long enough for onions to caramelise.
12 Remove from heat and add the sumac to the pan. Once the mix is pinkish in colour, pour into a colander and let the oil drain.
13 Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5.
14 Coat the chicken in olive oil, salt, pepper and sumac. Roast for about 40 minutes.
15 To assemble the tart, spread caramelised onion on the pastry. Remove the chicken from the bones, slice thinly and place it on top of the onions.
16 Garnish with pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and a few fresh thyme sprigs.
For more of Suzanne’s recipes, check out her new cookery book, When Suzanne Cooks, available at bookshops across Dubai or online at www.suzannehusseini.com. Suzanne will also be appearing on UAE TV in 2011, hosting cooking shows in both English and Arabic
