It is a Roman Jewish tradition to eat fried chicken for Chanukah. In fact, during Chanukah, Roman Jews eat anything fried in order to remember the miracle of the oil in the Temple.
December 11, 2008 11:22
BySilvia Nacamulli, Silvia Nacamulli
It is a Roman Jewish tradition to eat fried chicken for Chanukah. In fact, during Chanukah, Roman Jews eat anything fried in order to remember the miracle of the oil in the Temple.
The classic version of this dish does not have garlic or rosemary, but I like to add both as I think they go well with the chicken. In the marinade they release a strong and distinctive Italian aroma, which I love. I also found a couple of recipes which use a teaspoon of either cinnamon and/or nutmeg in the marinade. These give a gentle sweet taste to the chicken, which is lovely, so try both versions and see which one you prefer. You can also add all of the extra ingredients and you’ll have a rich, full-flavoured Chanukah fried chicken.
I like to use chicken pieces on the bone, but you can use boneless thighs or breasts instead. If using those, the cooking time is halved.
You can prepare this dish in advance and re-heat it in the oven, but you’ll lose a bit of the crispiness of the chicken. Happy Chanukah!
Cooking time: 30 minutes, plus 2 hours to marinate. Serves 4-6 as main course.
Ingredients
1 small chicken approx 1kg or 6-8 serving pieces of chicken
2 crushed cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons of olive oil to marinate, plus 1 litre olive oil to fry
1 freshly squeezed lemon
Small bunch of fresh rosemary
5-6 tbs of white flour
2 free range eggs
5-6 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Method
Silvia Nacamulli’s website is www.cookingforthesoul.com.