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Weeknight Roast Chicken, Fit for a Weekend

September 25, 2011 //
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While roasting chicken is a fairly simple endeavor—at least it can be; like anything I suppose it can be made as complicated as you want—I can count on one hand how many times I’ve made it during the week. For me it’s all about the weekend, Sundays in particular. The leftovers can be used in numerous ways all week and it’s just the thing to cap off a leisurely weekend. It must run in the family because my mom also tends to make roast chicken on Sundays down in Raleigh.

This past week I was perusing Cook’s Illustrated, one of the best food publications in a very crowded market. (I’d also add a plug for the Art of Eating, Edward Behr’s quarterly from Vermont.) The website featured a dish called Weeknight Roast Chicken, and it caught my attention because, as the weather turns cooler, I turn on the oven. And I have a bit of a thing for roast chicken recipes. It’s such a simple dish yet each cook has quite a personal, specific method for how to make it just so. So when a chef I like, or in this case a magazine, shares a recipe for the dish, I pay attention, curious to see if I’ll learn any new tricks. A personal favorite is Simon Hopkinson’s from his book Roast Chicken and Other Stories.

Cook’s Illustrated never fails to disappoint. With an army of testers they publish only airtight recipes. This method calls for preheating the skillet in a 450-degree oven then turning off the heat halfway through. This makes for a nicely browned bird that retains its juices. The pre-heated skillet gives the thighs a jumpstart on cooking. The seasoning is merely salt and pepper sprinkled over the bird that has been coated with a tablespoon of olive oil. I inserted half a lemon and a half a bulb of garlic to the bird’s cavity. You don’t want to crowd the bird too much with stuffing, which slows the cooking. To the skillet I added chopped carrots, shallots, and garlic cloves, sprinkled with just a little salt and olive oil. Next time I’d add a little smoked paprika to the chicken’s skin before cooking.

I served the bird with a pear-endive-blue cheese salad, dressed with a lemon-mustard vinaigrette, and a shiitake mushroom rice pilaf.

Roast Chicken, easy enough for a weeknight, proper enough for a Sunday
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

Kosher salt
Black pepper
1 (3 1/2 to 4 lb) whole chicken
1 tbsp olive oil or softened butter
1/2 lemon
1/2 to 1 clove of garlic
optional: a few sprigs of rosemary or thyme

1. Adjust the oven rack to its middle position and place a 12-inch ovenproof skillet (like cast iron) on the rack. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Clean the chicken and pat dry thoroughly with a towel. Rub the entire surface with the oil or butter. Sprinkle evenly with about 1 tbsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper. Place the lemon, garlic, and herbs if using into the bird’s cavity. Tie the legs together with twine and tuck the wings behind back.

2. Transfer the chicken breast-side up to the pre-heated skillet. Careful when handling the hot skillet. Roast the chicken at 450 until the breasts are 120 degrees and the thighs 135 degrees, 25 to 35 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the chicken in for another 25 to 35 minutes, until the breasts register 160 degrees and the thighs 175.

3. Transfer to a serving dish and let the chicken rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes if you’re starving and 20 minutes if you can stand it.

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Categories Chicken, Fall, Rice, Savory, Vermont

Red Lentil Tarka (Masoor Dal)

September 7, 2011 //
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My friend Amy and I were finally able to shop at the co-op now that Irene was well in our past and the checkout line wasn’t snaking out the door. We had plans to make dinner together Friday evening but were unsure what to make. In the produce aisle Amy suggested an Indian curry. We had come for spices anyway so it seemed like a good idea.

Armed with Madhur Jaffrey’s Quick and Easy Indian Cooking, we decided on a variation of her Masoor Dal, or Red LentilTarka. Tarka refers to cooking spices briefly in hot oil, to bring out their flavors. The lentils cook down to a creamy, luscious consistency and the garam masala and dried red chiles bring the heat.

In addition to the red lentils, we had an armful of local eggplants and long thin okra. Feeling bold we decided to improvise an okra-eggplant curry. We sautéed a chopped onion in two tbsp of ghee then added about 4 c of chopped eggplant. After the eggplant was soft (maybe 10 minutes) we added chopped okra, a large pinch of garam masala and salt, and 3-4 c of chicken stock. We let that simmer down for a half hour or so, until thick, and served in addition to the red lentils.

Red Lentil Tarka
adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s Masoor Dal

1 c red lentils (a.k.a. masoor dal)
4 c water or stock (vegetable or chicken)
1 slice fresh ginger, about the size of a quarter, chopped
3/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee (plus more if using onions and garlic)
1 pinch garam masala (recipe here)
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried red chile peppers
optional: 1 onion, chopped; 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 3/4 c diced tomatoes

Clean the lentils well and discard any small pebbles. Place the lentils in a three-quart pot with 4 c of water or stock and bring to a boil. Add the ginger and turmeric, turn the heat to low and cover leaving the lid slightly ajar. Cook for 20-25 minutes.

Approx. 10 minutes before your lentils are done, if you are using onions and garlic, heat approx. 2 tbsp of ghee or vegetable oil in a medium skillet. Add the onions and cook for 5-10 minutes, then add the garlic and tomatoes (optional, but they’re so good this time of year why not?) and cook for a couple more minutes. Transfer the onion mixture from the skillet to the lentils, leaving the oil in your skillet.

Add an additional 2 tbsp of ghee or oil to the skillet and heat on medium. When hot, add the garam masala, cumin seeds, and red hot peppers and cook for approx. 10 seconds. Quickly add the spice mixture to the lentils and cover with a lid. Let all the ingredients simmer together for another few minutes before serving. If the dal seems too liquidy at this point you can simmer for longer, uncovered, to let some of the liquid evaporate. Add the salt and season to your liking.

Serve with basmati rice and thick yogurt, raita, or pickled vegetables or chutneys.

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Categories Curry, Entertaining, Rice, Savory

Tapado de pollo

May 15, 2011 //
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At lunch yesterday, Manuel and Satomi told me about a dish that Manuel’s grandmother used to make for him back in Puebla, Mexico: tapado de pollo, which literally means “covered chicken.” The chicken is cooked slowly over low heat in a covered skillet, or you could even make this in a dutch oven or Le Creuset pan.

Spiced with cinnamon and crushed cloves, the chicken stews in roma tomatoes with plump raisins and sliced almonds. Savory and a little bit sweet, this is a quick and easy dinner to whip up with ingredients you might already have on hand. Manuel – don’t tell your grandmother but I did make a few adjustments.

As soon as I brought the chicken thighs home I washed and patted them dry with paper towels, then generously salted them on both sides and put them in the fridge for a few hours until I was ready to cook. This is an old trick I learned from one of Alice Waters’s cookbooks – she’s a firm believer in salting chicken for as long as possible before cooking, whether that’s just an hour or two, or day or two. It improves the flavor immensely and, some say, keeps the meat moist.

As for my variations on the recipe, I used shallots instead of onions; increased the garlic; added cumin, nutmeg, and ichimi (crushed Japanese red pepper) for more depth and kick; added a little bit of red wine to the cooking liquid; and somewhat re-ordered the steps.

Tapado de pollo

2 chopped shallots
5 chopped cloves of garlic
6-7 chicken thighs, organic if possible, bone on, skin off
6 chopped roma tomatoes
1/4 c red wine
1/3 c raisins
1/3 tsp cinnamon
1/3 tsp crushed cloves
1/3 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ichimi or crushed red pepper
1/3 c sliced almonds, toasted in a skillet for about 5 minutes to bring out the flavor
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil

Heat approx. 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic, sauté until softened but not brown, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken and sauté on each side for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes – juice, seeds, and all – along with about 1/4 c red wine. Cover with a lid and cook for about 10 minutes, turning the chicken once.

At this point the chicken will be about halfway cooked; there should be a lot of liquid in the pan, and the tomatoes will start breaking down. Add the raisins, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cumin, and ichimi. Stir, then cover and cook for another, say, 10 minutes, before adding the almonds (you don’t want the almonds to get too soft). Add salt and pepper, to taste, and continue cooking over low heat until the chicken is cooked through and the aromas start traveling down the hallway to your neighbor’s apartment.

I served this with Japanese short-grain rice and sautéed chard.

This was so easy and oishii I think I’ll include this dish in my regular rotation. Thank you Manuel and Satomi!

Categories Chicken, Mexico, Rice, Savory, Tomatoes
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