I can’t think of a lot better ways to roast chicken thighs. This is such a better alternative than take-away «chicken gyros» and a great solution to feed hungry, sunday crowds. Half I marinated with a fair amount of fragrant spices like cumin and paprica. The other half with sumac and thyme for a more lemony accent. Both came out fantastic. The good thing is that you can do both marinates the previous day and keep the marinated chicken in the fridge. Just make sure you take it out of the fridge one hour before roasting to reach room temperature. I served them with home baked pita bread and tahini.

Marinade no.1

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp paprica
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 lemons, juiced
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground all-spice
• ½ tsp turmeric
• a pinch chilli powder
• salt to taste

• 10 chicken thighs, with skin, no bone

Marinade no.2

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp sumac
• a pinch chilli powder
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• 1 Tbs honey
• 2 lemons, juiced
• ½ tsp saffron threads

• 10 chicken thighs, with skin, no bone

Method

Mix all the ingredients for the first marinade. Put chicken thighs in a zip-lock plastic bag (or a plastic container) and pour in the marinade. Shake bag gently to distribute the marinade. Put in the fridge to marinate at for at least 2 hours.

Mix all the ingredients together for the second marinade. Repeat the process and put in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 200 C (390 F). Spread both chicken in two baking trays. Pour in some of their marinade, to come up about 1 cm the sides of the pan. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes until well roasted and cooked through.

If serving with pita, slice the chicken to help your guests roll the chicken in the pita, drizzle with tahini and scatter chopped parsley leaves.