Zaatar-spiced slow-roasted chicken & buckwheat salad

Roasting chicken in the slow cooker keeps it moist, while browning it first gives you additional flavour as well as that classic golden chicken skin.

SERVES: 4

1.3kg-1.5kg free-range chicken
olive oil for cooking
1 small lemon, halved
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves
2 tablespoons zaatar*
1 cup chicken stock

Preheat the slow cooker for 20 minutes.

Pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper and remove any excess fat. Heat a dash of oil in a frying pan over medium heat then slowly brown the chicken on all sides.

Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker and push the lemon halves and garlic cloves into the cavity.

Mix the thyme and zaatar together then rub evenly all over the chicken breast, legs and wings. Season with a little freshly ground black pepper.

Cover the chicken and cook on High for 3 hours. Remove from the slow cooker and keep warm.

Pour any cooking juices into a saucepan, add the stock and boil until syrupy. Taste and season.

Carve the chicken and spoon a little of the stock mix over it. Serve with the buckwheat salad (recipe follows).

Cooking in regular oven:

Put the vegetables in a roasting dish then top with the spice-rubbed ribs and pour the hot stock over. Cover with foil then cook at 150°C for 6 hours or until the meat is falling off the bones.

Stuff the chickenwith the lemon and garlic and rub with a little olive oil and the herbs. Roast at 180°C for 1 1?2 hours until the juices run clear when the thickest part is pierced.

Buckwheat salad

250g untoasted buckwheat, rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1?4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leafed parsley leaves
4 spring onions, very thinly sliced

Toast the buckwheat in a dry saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes or until it smells toasted.

Carefully pour in 500ml boiling water (stand back). Cover the saucepan and set aside, off the heat, for 15 minutes. Drain if necessary.

Add the oil, lemon zest and juice, parsley and spring onions and use a fork to mix through. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

* Zaatar is a Middle Eastern herb mix that typically consists of dried wild thyme, sesame seeds, sumac and sea salt. Look for it in supermarkets and food stores. To make your own, go to cuisine.co.nz and search “zaatar”