Chris Williams loves to use berbere, a hot and complex Ethiopian spice blend, at his restaurant Lucille’s in Houston. “It’s one of my favorite tools for bringing excitement to humble ingredients,” he says. Williams employs it here to create a flavorful paste, which he rubs all over a whole chicken before roasting it over root vegetables. It’s a simple but satisfying one-pan meal that welcomes whatever seasonal veg you might have on hand.
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What you’ll need
Instant-Read Thermometer
$35 At Thermoworks
Blender
$40 At Amazon
3-Qt. Baking Dish
$17 At Amazon
Citrus Juicer
$20 $15 At Amazon
Small Skillet
$23 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
4 Servings
Ingredients
5
6
½
2
2½
6
2
1
1
1
1
⅓
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400°. Heat 4 Tbsp. oil in a small skillet over medium. Cook garlic, stirring constantly, until softened and light brown, about 3 minutes.
Step 2
Scrape oil and garlic into a blender. Add berbere, juice of 2 lemon halves, and 2½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Purée to a loose paste.
Step 3
Place radishes, potatoes, brussels sprouts, and carrots in a 3-qt. baking dish. Drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and season with salt and pepper. Place chicken, breast side up, on top. Massage berbere paste all over skin, inside cavity, and between breast and skin. Stuff cavity with onion and 1 lemon half. Loosely cover baking dish with foil and roast 1 hour.
Step 4
Remove foil and continue to roast until chicken is well browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a breast registers 155° (temperature will climb to 165° as chicken rests), about 30 minutes longer. Let chicken rest in baking dish at least 15 minutes before carving.
Step 5
Toss parsley with juice of remaining lemon half and a drizzle of oil in a small bowl; season with salt. Serve chicken with vegetables alongside; top with dressed parsley.
How would you rate Berbere-Spiced Roast Chicken and Vegetables?
Leave a Review
Reviews (16)
Back to TopAbout to make for my kids (2 and 5) and my MiL (who hates "hot" food) for the second time. It was a smashing hit the first time around. I'm only using half the amount of Berbere in the recipe because the premade shit is going for 10 bucks a bottle and is only 1/3rd of a cup. Also i've been dry brining the chicken for 36 hours prior to cooking, just salt/pepper. Otherwise I've changed nothing except for more time cooking uncovered due to wanting crispier skin.
Simon
1/19/2023
I thought this was horrible. The paste was lumpy and while I roasted it for the amount of time indicated and used a meat thermometer, the chicken was underdone. Big waste of time and money.
Carol
Central OR
1/16/2023
Delicious! I had a bunch of leftover berbere that I made for a previous recipe and it was perfect for a whole chicken. I used more lemons and added onions to the puree made with garlic and spices, cooked it all with onions and butternut squash. Pureed the roasted squash, drippings, spices, onions, and garlic into a thick sauce, shredded the chicken, and served with roasted veggies and flatbread. Yum!
Cat in the Kitchen
Seattle, WA
3/29/2022
The flavor of the berber was delicious on the chicken and roasted vegetables - make sure to toss the veg in the pan drippings! I will say that the spice paste was very difficult to spread over the chicken as it clumped very easily. I would favor a berbere dry rub then a brush with oil or melted butter. A lemon in the carcass perfumed the chicken nicely.
Paul
Ann Arbor, MI
1/19/2022
I wanted to do a quick version for an easy weeknight meal. I started with two split breasts and four thighs, used about 1/4 cup of berbere spice, the juice of half a lemon, and two garlic cloves, along with corresponding smaller amounts of olive oil and salt. After covering the chicken parts with the paste, I tossed the veggies in a bowl with the remnants of the paste and a tsp of Kosher salt, and put everything into the oven at 375 degrees on two sheet pans. I put the split breasts on the bottom sheet to avoid them drying out. Cooked for 20 minutes, rotated them, keeping the breasts on the bottom, then finished by putting each sheet under the broiler for two minutes. I cut the other half of the lemon into wedges, which we squeezed over our plates. The result was excellent, and the clean-up was a breeze. This recipe will be a staple going forward!
Greg
Wellesley, MA
1/4/2022
Hope to make this soon. I found recipes on another cooking site to make my own Berbere. I wish BA included the steps for homemade spice mixes, since I would guess that many of their readers have big spice collections. Just started my subscription to BA, too. :)
MK in Madville
Madville PA
11/11/2021
For all the questioning - the 1/2 cup of berbere is correct. I made it and it turned out perfectly. My roasting time was a little bit longer but possibly because my oven isn't the hottest. Really great and flavourful.
Anonymous
Canada
10/12/2021