Parshat Vayechi Recipe - Buried Chicken

In last week’s parsha, Jacob died in Egypt, was embalmed and then buried in Canaan. We celebrated this in food for Shabbat dinner. The main course was Buried Egyptian Chicken, in which sweet and spicy roasted chicken is buried in rubble and the guests dig it up. The embalming was honored preserved foods—pickles and pickled beets with peppers.

The challah was flavored with coriander, a spice used in Egyptian cooking.

Here’s how it went:

Spicy Roast Chicken with Dates and Almonds
Ingredients:

10 lbs chicken parts
5 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp ground cumin
1.5 tsp ground ginger
1.5 tsp turmeric
1.5 tsp salt
6 tsp lemon juice
2 cups pitted dates
1 cup sliced or slivered almonds
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
1 large onion cut into chunks

Put chicken in a large roasting pan. Combine seasonings and rub into chicken parts, on and under the skin. Pour on broth and lemon juice. Add chopped onion, dates and almonds. Cover and roast at 425 until chicken is tender, about an hour or so. Uncover and remove most of the liquid (using a turkey baster). Arrange chicken with skin-side up and cook uncovered to brown (I put the dark meat on top).

Promised Land Quinoa
This is designed to remind us of dirt from the Land.

1 pkg quinoa (12 oz)
1 pkg Inca Red Quinoa (12 oz)
@3.5 cups vegetable broth
½ cup light coconut milk
1 cup pitted olives, some chopped
salt and pepper

Measure quinoa into a large pot. Add 2 parts of liquid using any combination of broth, water and coconut milk (we had some leftover miso soup we included). Add olives. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed.

Cover the roasted chicken with the quinoa and serve with gardening tools.