Ingredients

1 large whole chicken (approx. 1.2kg)

4 red onions, quartered

4 carrots, cut into chunks

4 potatoes, cut into chunks

2 bulbs of garlic

For the marinade

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1⁄2 tsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1⁄4 tsp ground cardamom

1 lemon, juiced

Method 

Preheat the oven to 250°c. First, prepare the marinade. Mix the olive oil, salt, black pepper, tomato paste, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cardamom and lemon juice together in a small bowl. 

Thoroughly wash the chicken and pat dry, then lightly season with salt. Place the onions, carrots, potatoes and whole garlic bulbs into a large Dutch oven (or a large ovenproof cooking pot) with the chicken, then generously coat the chicken and vegetables with the marinade. 

Cover the pot with a lid, place in the preheated oven and roast the chicken and vegetables for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 170°c and leave to cook for an additional 60  minutes. In the final 15 minutes, remove the lid and allow the chicken to brown. Serve with a fresh green salad. 

Reflection

Shortly after my third child was born, having been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, I had a thyroidectomy and radiation treatment followed by two weeks of self isolation. When I returned home, life suddenly got super hectic: I had a new baby, I was dealing with post-traumatic stress and we were moving house. I don’t think I realised it then, but I was slowly sinking into a depression and needed to find a way out. My husband and sister stepped in to help, knowing that food was my therapy: I would enter the kitchen, start cooking and slowly begin to heal. 

Zahra Abdalla (@cookingwithzahra)