Barbecued poussins with za’atar and roast pumpkin houmous
You can buy za’atar – a Middle Eastern spice blend – but it’s easy to make your own (and cheap, too). Making it yourself also means you can vary it. This is a very basic za’atar, others are more complicated, but thyme, sumac and sesame seeds are essential. It makes more than you need, but keep it in an airtight container and sprinkle it on warm flatbread, or use it to marinate lamb kebabs. Pumpkin houmous isn’t authentic but it gives chickpea houmous a run for its money. I vary the ingredients, sometimes adding ground cumin or dried chilli (add those when you roast the pumpkin or when you purée it). What is really important is seasoning and adding the right amount of lemon juice, so use your taste buds.
Ingrediënten
FOR THE ZA’ATAR
- small bunch of thyme (enough to give about 4 tbsp of thyme leaves)
- 2 tsp ground sumac
- ½ tbsp dried wild oregano
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds toasted
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes
FOR THE POUSSINS
- juice of 1 lemon plus lemon wedges to serve
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 4 poussins spatchcocked
FOR THE HOUMOUS
- 800 g 1lb 12oz pumpkin or butternut squash
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 135 g 4¾oz cooked chickpeas
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2½ tbsp tahini
- juice of 1 lemon
- 50 ml 2fl oz extra virgin olive oil
Instructies
- First of all make the za’atar.
- Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2.
- Strip the leaves from the thyme.
- Put them in a small roasting tin and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes.
- Put the dried leaves into a mortar and pound lightly.
- Add the remaining ingredients.
- Pound a little more, but not so much that you grind the sesame seeds, just to release the aromas.
- Mix 4 tbsp of the za’atar with the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and pepper.
- Trim any raggedy bits of skin from the poussins.
- Put them in a dish and cover them in the marinade.
- Cover with cling film and put in the fridge for four hours or overnight.
- Bring to room temperature before cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
- Cut the pumpkin into chunks then remove the seeds and peel.
- Put into a roasting tin, drizzle with the regular oil, season and roast for about 25 minutes, until completely tender.
- Prepare a barbecue to the stage where the coals are hot but no longer flaming.
- Lift the poussins out of the marinade and put on to the barbecue.
- Cook for 10 minutes, then turn and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Check to see if they are done and return the poussins if they need more cooking, changing their position on the barbecue.
- It usually takes 25 minutes in all.
- Quickly purée the pumpkin with the other ingredients for the houmous.
- Sprinkle the poussins with more za’atar and serve with the houmous and some Greek yogurt.
- You don’t need any starch, as the houmous provides that, but a green salad, tomato salad, or roast tomatoes are lovely on the side.
- Provide lemon wedges as well, to squeeze on the poussins.
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