Oven-Baked Chicken with Potatoes (Sunday Roast)

1985, Lefkara. I sit with my beloved grandfather Kostaris under the big mulberry tree in the garden, watching my grandmother take the large baking tray of perfectly roasted chicken out of the wood-fired oven. It’s almost noon, and the courtyard of the Turkish Cypriot house where my grandparents live after the invasion is already filled with cousins and other relatives. Shouts, laughter, noise—the familiar hubbub of the family. Grandma brings the tray with her fragrant chicken and places it in the center of the large table. The voices stop, and the whole clan dives into the food to enjoy the crispy chicken skin, the crunchy tops of the potatoes, the juicy roasted tomatoes, and the rosy onions. Oh, my grandma, what wouldn't I give to eat this dish made by your hands again… Just like back then in your courtyard in Lefkara.