An easy one-pan roast chicken dinner with a delicious citrus marinade starring turmeric and other Eastern Mediterranean spices! Step-by-step tutorial below.
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At first glance, this is a bubbling one-pan roast chicken with a beautiful golden hue.
But truth be told, this all began as a turmeric recipe. I wanted a way to use the”superior medicine,” which has long been a part of Eastern Mediterranean cooking. The poor chicken just happened to be a good carrier for my happy experiment.
Because how else could I have disguised the turmeric in the form of something my kids would eat?! All I had to say was, “look kids, I colored the chicken yellow!”
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So the golden hue is obviously thanks to the ground turmeric.
But turmeric also provides the flavor base in this roast chicken recipe. The rest of the spices, along with the brown sugar; fennel; onions; and citrus, all kinda surround the turmeric building on it’s woodsy, earthy characteristics…
And coming together in this roast chicken dinner as in a perfect melody– slightly sweet, earthy, and comforting! Enjoy!
Step-by-Step Tutorial for Roast Chicken
(Scroll down for the ingredient list and print-friendly recipe)
Note: this roast chicken is best served with a plain rice like this Lebanese Rice. You can begin by making the rice and reheat later, if needed.
Prepare the ingredients as listed. Slice the fennel, onions, orange and lime. Set aside.
Make the marinade. In a large bowl or deep dish, mix together the first six ingredients: olive oil, white wine, orange juice, lime juice, mustard and brown sugar.
In a small bowl, mix together the spices: turmeric, garlic powder, coriander, paprika , salt and pepper. Now, add about half of the spice mix to the liquid marinade. Mix to combine.
Pat the chicken pieces dry and generously season with the remainder of the spice mix. Be sure to lift the chicken skins slightly and apply some of the spice mix underneath the skin.
Add the seasoned chicken and the remaining ingredients to the large bowl of marinade. Work the chicken well into the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours (if you don’t have time, you can skip the marinating).
When ready, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Transfer the chicken along with the marinade and everything else to a large baking pan so that everything is comfortably arranged in one layer. Be sure the chicken skin is facing up. Sprinkle with a dash or salt and more brown sugar, if you like.
Roast for 40-45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the chicken skin has nicely browned. Internal chicken temperature should be 170 degrees F.
Serve immediately with Lebanese Rice.
Mediterranean Roast Chicken with Turmeric and Fennel
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Prep Time: 15 mins - Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
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Yield: 4-6
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Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 lime, juice of
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard
- 3 tbsp brown sugar, more for later
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tbsp ground turmeric spice
- 1 tsp ground corriander
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 large fennel bulb, cored, sliced
- 1 large sweet onion, sliced into half moons
- 6 pieces bone in, skin on chicken (chicken legs or breasts, or a combination)
- 2 Oranges, unpeeled, sliced
- 1 lime, thinly sliced (optional)
Instructions
- Make the marinade. In a large bowl or deep dish, mix together the first six ingredients: olive oil, white wine, orange juice, lime juice, mustard and brown sugar.
- In a small bowl, mix together the spices: turmeric, garlic powder, coriander, paprika , salt and pepper. Now, add about half of the spice mix to the liquid marinade. Mix to combine.
- Pat the chicken pieces dry and generously season with the remainder of the spice mix. Be sure to lift the chicken skins slightly and apply some of the spice mix underneath the skin.
- Add the seasoned chicken and the remaining ingredients to the large bowl of marinade. Work the chicken well into the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours (if you don’t have time, you can skip the marinating).
- When ready, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Transfer the chicken along with the marinade and everything else to a large baking pan so that everything is comfortably arranged in one layer. Be sure the chicken skin is facing up. Sprinkle with a dash or salt and more brown sugar, if you like.
- Roast for 40-45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the chicken skin has nicely browned. Internal chicken temperature should be 170 degrees F.
Notes
This roast chicken is best served with Lebanese Rice. If you choose to make the rice, go ahead and prepare it first according tothis recipe. You can reheat the rice later if needed.
Recommended for this recipe: Large Baking Pan like in this set
More Recipes to Try
Turmeric Cauliflower and Chickpea Stew- Holy Land Inspired
Stephen Shields says
This looks good! I was wondering though if anyone has tried to use fresh tumeric in this recipe. Our local asian market has it fresh most of the time. I’ll try it , perhaps both ways, and see how it compares. Pureeing the fresh might be best.
Suzy Karadsheh says
Stephen, great question! I have not tried fresh turmeric myself here. I found out in a quick research that 1-inch piece of fresh turmeric would approximately equal 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder, as far as substituting. But I find that turmeric powder will be easier to use in spicing the chicken. Would be eager to hear what you find out!
Suzy Karadsheh says
Thanks for sharing Natalie! I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Ingrid B says
I love this recipe! I’m cooking this again today but this time I’m not adding any salt and brown sugar due to some of my guests’ diets. I’ve marinated it overnight to really get those flavors in. Wish me luck but I’m sure it will be delicious! Thanks!
Suzy Karadsheh says
Hope you all loved it, Ingrid!
Tiffany Tan says
I am out of limes but could I use the juice of a lemon?
Suzy Karadsheh says
Sure, Tiffany! That would work!
Jen Johal says
Could I use boneless skinless chicken for this recipe?
Suzy Karadsheh says
Yes, absolutely! You’ll just need to adjust the cooking time here as boneless chicken cooks faster. Enjoy!
Renee L says
Made this recipe last night and the family loved it. They yellow mustard, was it supposed to be dry mustard or liquid yellow hot dog mustard? We decided it was dried mustard.
★★★★★
Suzy Karadsheh says
That’s wonderful, Renee! This is a winner at my house as well. It’s actually liquid mustard (the condiment you buy in bottles). Sorry about the confusion. It sounds like dry mustard works just as well here! Thanks for sharing.
Mark U. says
Hi Suzy,
Love the sound of this dish. I am making this tonight. I want know if you have marinated this longer?
I am so excited to try this. I have made many of your dishes and they are wonderful.
Thank you for the great recipes.
Suzy Karadsheh says
Hi Mark! Thanks so much for the kind comment. If you do not have the time to marinate the chicken, you do not have to in this recipe! Enjoy!
Lariza says
Can I subsittute the white wine for chicken broth? This chicken looks delicious and I want to make it for my husband.
Thank you 😉
Suzy Karadsheh says
Hello, Lariza. Yes, I think you can make this substitution. You’ll get a slightly different result, but it will still be great!
Del's cooking twist says
I am totally in love with the color of your dish – not to mention the flavors that smell good until my house or almost. I need to make it soon. I will let you know 🙂
★★★★★
Angela says
You have packed in such incredible flavors into this chicken. This looks absolutely perfect!!!
Mike Pethoud says
Dear Suzy,
I want to let you know how happy I am that I found your site. I was looking for Mediterranean food recipes because my husband was recently diagnosed with kidney and bladder stones and I read that a Mediterranean diet was beneficial in reducing those stones. And it also helped that I have had a long standing love affair with Mediterranean food. And after finding your web site I was amazed at the variety of recipes you provide and the ones I have tried have all been truly delicious. This is a dietary change we have not minded making. We miss nothing and are eating much healthier because of you and your delicious recipes. Thank you!
Suzy Karadsheh says
Oh, Mike. Thank you! Your kind comment truly means a lot. I am ever so humbled to know that I can help in some small way. And I’m excited to hear that you’ve enjoyed the recipes you tried so far. Please feel free to come back and report on progress! Love hearing from you. And all the best re fighting back those kidney issues!