Celebrity chef Michael Mina laughs when he thinks about his dad, Ezzat, using the grill. Whatever he cooked, “the outside was burnt and the inside was raw,” he said.
But his mom, Minerva, was the chef of the family. And her Egyptian roots helped Mina develop a love for bold, Middle Eastern flavors.
Now Mina is sharing his family recipes in his new cookbook, “My Egypt” (Voracious, 2024) where he hopes to inspire the next generation of Egyptian chefs — or anyone with an adventurous palate.
The award-winning chef recently shared some of those recipes, his five favorite Middle Eastern restaurants in the Bay Area and talked about his past that led to this cookbook’s creation.
He provided recipes for a watermelon and halloumi salad, his mom’s classic koshari and this one for a lemon-flavored chicken that even his dad could make (but Mina would prefer it if his mom did the cooking).
“This is the one my mom made, and it’s more on the Greek side,” he explained. “The chicken is marinated with feta brine, and you roast it with potatoes. It’s a very easy dish to make.”
In the cookbook, he writes: “My dad didn’t have much success grilling chicken in our backyard when I was growing up, but going to Egypt made me realize what he was trying to emulate: a bird with a crisp exterior that was thoroughly seasoned throughout. Here’s the answer: submerging the chicken in feta brine overnight, then cooking it with the classic ‘under a brick’ technique, which maximizes the chicken’s contact with the hot surface, all but guaranteeing even cooking and crisp skin.” Serve it with lemon potatoes, a recipe also in the cookbook.
Spatchcock Chicken with Mint and Green Onions
Serves 4 to 6
Note: This chicken must be brined 8 hours or overnight.
INGREDIENTS
1 smallish chicken (about 3½ pounds)
2 ounces feta cheese
4 cups water, divided
5 sprigs oregano
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 lemon, sliced ¼ inch thick
Michael Mina’s new cookbook, “My Egypt,” celebrates the flavors of his heritage. (Voracious 2024)
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
To cook and serve:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chopped mint, plus extra mint leaves if desired
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 Fresno chile or red jalapeño, thinly sliced crosswise, seeds removed if preferred
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
DIRECTIONS
Lay the chicken breast side down. Starting at the neck, use poultry shears to cut along both sides of the spine to remove the backbone. Switch to a knife and cut out the rib cage (you can save the backbone and rib cage for stock). Flip the chicken over so it’s breast side up and press down on the breastbone to crack it slightly. Next, remove the thigh bone on each leg: cut the ball joints on each end of the bone to pop them out and then cut along both sides of the bone until it is loose enough to remove. (Removing the thigh bones helps the bird lie flatter in the pan when cooking.) If you purchase your chicken from a good butcher, you can ask them to do this prep work for you.
In a blender or food processor, blend the feta with 2 cups water until well blended, then blend in the remaining 2 cups water.
Put the chicken skin side down in a nonreactive 9- by 13-inch baking dish and cover with a layer of cheesecloth. Place the oregano sprigs, garlic, lemon, bay leaf and peppercorns on top of the cheesecloth, then pour in the feta brine so the chicken is nearly submerged. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
Arrange an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and discard the cheesecloth, brine, lemon, peppercorns and herbs. Put the chicken on a tray and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Tuck the wing tips behind the shoulders and let air-dry breast side up for 30 to 40 minutes while the oven heats up.
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Heat the vegetable oil in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Place the chicken skin side down, ensuring the skin on the legs is in contact with the pan. Cook until the skin begins to turn golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Put a smaller oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven on top of the chicken to weigh it down. Carefully transfer the pan — with the weight on top — to the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 170 degrees, and the skin is deep golden brown, about 35 minutes.
Remove from the oven, uncover, and gently flip the chicken over to ensure the skin hasn’t stuck to the pan. If it has and begins to tear as you flip it, let it sit, skin-side down, for 1 to 2 minutes more until it releases. Transfer to a cutting board and let it rest, skin side up, for at least 5 minutes.
While the chicken rests, mix together the mint, parsley, chile, green onion, paprika, oregano and olive oil in a small bowl. Using a rasp grater, zest the lemon directly into the bowl and stir to combine, then cut the lemon into wedges to serve with the chicken.
To serve the chicken, cut off the legs, then separate the drumsticks from the thighs. Cut each thigh in half. Cut the breasts off the bone and slice each one into thirds, then cut the wings off. You’ll have 2 drumsticks, 4 thigh pieces, 6 breast pieces and 2 wings. Arrange on a platter. Spoon the herb-oil mixture on top (or serve on the side) and scatter the feta and mint leaves around the plate. Serve with the lemon wedges.
— Courtesy “My Egypt: Cooking from My Roots,” by Michael Mina (Voracious, $40)
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