Creating a new spin on rotisserie chicken
New cookbook celebrates the rotisserie chicken
The rotisserie chicken is ubiquitous.
A supermarket staple, hundreds of millions have been sold in North America. They can be found at farmers’ markets and big box warehouse stores.
In San Francisco, people line up to a food truck that offers nothing but juicy chickens spinning on a spit; a similar truck operates in the south of France. For time immemorial, pretty much where there has been fire for cooking, there have been chickens rotating, basting in their own juices.
“It’s a universal food that people love to bits,” says chef and cookbook author Eric Akis. “Whenever I’m in the supermarket at supper time, they’re always sold out.”
When Akis and his wife travel, they always rent a place with a kitchen, so at the end of a long day of touring, they can grab a rotisserie chicken and some side dishes for an uncomplicated — and comforting — dinner.
“I do love a good chicken. It’s one of those comfort foods for me,” he says, adding he has a particular soft spot for rotisserie chicken, which, by its very nature of cooking while turning, is incredibly juicy with crispy skin. “All the juices go everywhere.”
Inspired by the popular and prolific poultry, Akis has released a new cookbook that celebrates the rotisserie chicken. The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook ( Random House Canada) features recipes for cooking chickens on a spit at home, how to use the cooked meat ( from supermarket or home- cooked versions) and dishes to serve alongside. ( And yes, for those of us without the ability to cook on a rotisserie, you can still use the recipes; we just won’t get quite the same all- over juiciness.)
A thorough tester, Akis took care to make sure the recipes worked both on the barbecue and in a countertop rotisserie oven. He used 80 chickens just to complete the first section of the cookbook, which features 10 internationally inspired rotisserie recipes. Another 50 — where he could at least pick up chickens cooked by someone else — were enjoyed as he developed recipes for the six chapters on what to do with the meat.
“A lot of chickens crossed the road to make this,” he jokes.
Pressed to pick favourites, Akis says his love of mashed potatoes means he has a fondness for a recipe where the roasted chicken is served with buttermilk mashed potatoes and a “sinful” mustard sauce that is good for gloomy days. On the lighter side, he likes the Vietnamese noodle bowl, which is similar to those found in restaurants but is topped with rotisserie chicken instead of spring rolls and pork.
The breadth of flavours and types of dishes gives the book wide appeal. Soups, salads and even sushi are featured among the more than 100 recipes.
“It’s chicken,” Akis says simply. “You can add it to just about anything and it will taste good.”
SALAD GREENS WITH CHICKEN, GRAPEFRUIT, CRANBERRIES, AND HEMP HEART DRESSING
This light and refreshing maincourse salad is stunning to look at, thanks to its colourful ingredients. Better yet, its citrus dressing is enhanced with hemp hearts, which give it a slightly nutty flavour and a healthy dose of essential fatty acids, protein, and fibre. Look for hemp hearts, shelled hemp seeds about the size of sesame seeds, at health food stores and some supermarkets. If you can’t find them, use lightly toasted sesame seeds instead. Hemp heart dressing 1⁄ 4 cup ( 60 mL) plain thick yogurt 2 tbsp ( 30 mL) orange juice 2 tbsp ( 30 mL) grapefruit juice 2 tsp ( 10 mL) honey 2 tsp ( 10 mL) Dijon mustard Pinch of dried tarragon 1 tbsp ( 15 mL) hemp hearts Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salad
2 small to medium red grapefruits 8 cups ( 2 L) mixed baby salad greens 1- 1⁄ 2 to 2 cups ( 375 to 500 mL) shredded rotisserie chicken meat 1⁄ 3 cup ( 80 mL) dried cranberries 1⁄ 3 cup ( 80 mL) grated carrots Hemp heart dressing:
1. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, orange juice, grapefruit juice, honey, mustard, tarragon and hemp hearts until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate dressing until needed. It can be made several hours in advance. Salad:
2. Using a sharp paring knife, cut and discard a thin slice from the blossom and bottom ends of one grapefruit, then set it, one of the cut sides down, on a clean work surface. Following the curved contour of the fruit, carefully cut off and discard the peel and the pith.
3. Cut the grapefruit in half vertically, then very carefully cut each half into thin slices. Repeat with the second grapefruit.
4. Arrange the slices around the perimeter of 4 plates. Mound 1⁄ 4 of the salad greens in the centre of each plate, then top with the chicken, cranberries, and carrots. Drizzle with dressing and serve.
Serves: 4