A chicken for December

It’s beginning to feel a lot like a furnace rather than festive, especially if you’re in Joburg. A dear friend said recently, “it’s giving December, not the Dezemba we were expecting”. This year has moved at a pace faster than a Chicken Licken “fly-thru” and that has been a good thing, and one that has left us all wondering where the year went. There is a palpable weariness that we had long before November, but we pressed on hoping for the Dezemba we deserve. Alas!

Someone asked on Instagram if we are in the festive season, because we do not even have the song of the year yet. There is no designated December tune that we are playing on repeat.

This is a very interesting time for me. My older sister and I channel some major “Bah humbug” vibes with our constant refrain of, “go easy on the goodwill and cheer.” Though when babies entered our lives, it changed the tone of the season somewhat. Despite my lack of interest in the commercialisation of Christmas, I don’t mind December at all. It is such a special season filled with excitement, expectation and memories in the making.

I remember the joy and anticipation of school’s closing, knowing it meant endless time with cousins, sticky from eating all the fruits of the season mixed with that saltiness of being in the seaside air. My grandmother’s table with those big enamel dishes filled with amagwimya (vetkoek) that we’d grab as we walked in and out of the house. Or the afternoons, as we sat on the stairs of the red stoep eating umphokoqo with ice cold, lumpy maas, as a supper starter while our uncles braaied meat for mains.

December is a mood and a moment of a desired and much needed pause, and also of connection and deep emotion. If you’re from the Eastern Cape like me, we’ve grown up in a long lineage of amaGoduka (those who make the annual pilgrimage home to their respective places of origin at this time of year.) Going home with new clothes, gifts, but mainly groceries. We remember the emphasis on food and making sure that the fridges and that chest freezer in the garage are sufficiently stocked for the holidays; and the many people that would pass through our family homes over the season.

Loving this summer season is easy, nostalgic and bitter sweet. While we savour the sunny days of warm bodies going in and out seeking shade in shared spaces, always indulging in the most delicious food, we are filled with bittersweet moments of those we hold space in our hearts for, who no longer physically sit table side. In this time of gathering, it often is so challenging for so many of us, thinking of those we love and who no longer share the season with us in person, but are etched into the tablecloth of our memories of these times shared with them.

Christmas in SA serves more surf than snow and I love it, but I wish our dishes were more authentic to the weather. Please may we not see a turkey. It is not our bird. Let’s enjoy the bounty of organic chicken.

This dry rub full chicken, was inspired by Oom Piet, our dear close friends, who are more like family now, who loved to cook and gather us all around. His (or was it his wife’s) clever idea of putting the water at the bottom of the oven not to dry out the chicken is pure genius (so I’m tempted to think it was his wife’s idea). The spice mix, however — mixed in with what I remember of the tastes we all loved around their big, kitchen table as we tucked into this grilled whole chicken, is mine.

This will be my December chicken, I think. I’m really looking forward to trying it on the braai. Creating new traditions of my own, with my own people and family is what I look forward to most. December is a great time to practice my intention of gathering with those close to me. We need nothing more than the simple pleasure of food and each other.

Ingredients: December Chicken

1. 1 x whole organic chicken — spatchcock (leave the bones in)
2. 2 x tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
3. 3 x teaspoons of sumac
4. ½ teaspoon of cumin
5. ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
6. 1 x teaspoon of jaggery or a muscovado sugar
7. ½ teaspoon of salt
8. 1 teaspoon of Himalayan salt
9. ½ teaspoon of white pepper
10. 1 teaspoon of dried organum
11. 3 x brown onions cut into quarters
12. 3 x cups of water or enough to cover the bottom of the oven tray below.

Method:

• Rub the rub all over the chicken, place the chicken on top of the quartered onions and place in the fridge overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 170°C.
• Place the chicken on to a rack on top of a larger oven tray.
• Add water into the oven tray.
• Place the chicken in the oven and allow it to cook for about 2.5 hours, checking for water levels every hour.

When ready, let the chicken rest for a few minutes and then serve with a delicious, crisp salad. Or put it on a board and pass it around to be enjoyed, just gently picking your favourite piece of this scrumptious chicken your hands. Savour this chicken, savour the moment with your people as you make memories.