everyone seems to have a very distinct opinion on the proper way to roast a chicken. do you roast per pound or roughly estimate? and how do you know when it's properly done? do you use an instant thermometer or do you see if the juices run clear? butter or olive oil? under the breast or in the cavity? to tin foil or not to tin foil? for all these reasons and more a roast chicken can seem like an overwhelming task. on top of that chicken is one of those things that gets a bad wrap for being boring, tasteless, and dry. it also sometimes seems to get itself involved with salmonella which is another strike against it. "so you say it doesn't taste of much AND could, on the off chance, potentially kill you? count me in!"
when i suggested that i roast a chicken for a friend, he didn't seem too impressed, in fact, he pretty much begged me not to make it. "how about pork? ....or maybe some lamb or something?" ouch, i get it! even my friends don't have confidence that i can properly roast a chicken. well, friendship be damned! i would roast a chicken and succeed!
then i got off my kitchen stool where i usually make these declarations and became nervous. what if i didn't? i would need something else to help salvage the meal. a backup plan.....that's where the bread salad came in. and no, this isn't the famous zuni cafe roast chicken and bread salad recipe. if that's what your looking to recreate i suggest you look at any reasonable food blog like this one, or maybe this one, how about this one? i've seen that recipe so many times that even i don't care how good it might be. it's probably great, but never trust hype.....it leads to expectations and i didn't want my expectations to be high at all. at least if i failed with random recipes i, in my own mind, wouldn't get all the blame. it was probably a bad recipe.....
the funny thing is that the meal didn't end up needing to be saved at all....the chicken was moist and delicious, it's skin crispy and golden {my buddy had seconds!}. it was hardly intimidating to make and my bread salad was a perfect compliment. it may not be from the zuni cafe cookbook but it was still super bomb {yeah, i typed that. deal!}
roast chicken with edible roasting rack
adapted from martha stewart
serves 4-6
- a day-old baguette
- whole chicken {about 5 pounds}
- 2 tbsp. softened unsalted butter
- a bunch of thyme
- 7 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
- 1/2 a lemon, quartered
- salt & pepper
- preheat oven to 425. arrange torn day-old baguette in a roasting pan.
- place the cleaned chicken on bread. stuff 3-4 thyme sprigs under the skin of each breast. season the cavity with salt and pepper then stuff with the lemon, a small handful of thyme sprigs, and 2 smashed garlic cloves. cross and tie legs with kitchen twine.
- brush the chicken with the softened butter. season the outside liberally with salt and pepper.
- scatter the rest of the garlic cloves and 4-6 more thyme sprigs at the bottom of the pan.
- roast chicken and bread for 40 minutes. then remove bread from pan and set aside for the salad. continue roasting the chicken for around another 15 minutes or until done*.
- cover chicken with tin foil and let rest for 10 minutes. carve and serve.
- 1 sliced portabella mushroom
- 3 cups of watercress
- 1/3 cup gouda cheese, cuded
- handful of chives, chopped
- handful of dill sprigs
- 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. dijon mustand
- salt & pepper
before roasting chicken*:
- preheat oven to 425 with rack in the middle.
- toss mushroom w. 1 tbsp olive oil, salt & pepper. roast in 1 layer in a 4-sided sheet pan, turning once, until golden brown and tender, about 10 minutes. let cool.
once the croutons are removed from roasting pan:
- whisk together vinegar, mustard, and olive oil until combined. salt and pepper to taste.
- toss half the dressing on the warm croutons. toss the other half with the mushrooms, gouda, watercress and herbs.
- serve croutons with salad.
