RULE THE ROAST
A burnished bird hot from the oven is an all-time favourite; your next chicken crowd-pleaser starts here.
A burnished bird hot from the oven is an all-time favourite. Served with a classic bread sauce, perhaps, or piled on a fragrant pilaf, your next chicken crowd-pleaser starts here.
CHICKEN SALAD Cement table (used throughout) from SlabsbyDesign. Napkins and salad servers from Jardan. Sandy Lockwood plates from Chinaclay. Salt dish and glasses from Hay. Leather tray from Space Furniture. CHICKEN WITH BREAD SAUCE Mug and coffee cup from Hay. Soup bowl from Batch Ceramics. Carving fork and knife from The Country Trader. All other props stylist’s own. Stockists p175. Chicken salad with celeriac, radicchio and pink grapefruit
(RECIPE P94)
Turmeric chicken with lemon pickle and almonds
When you don’t want to roast a whole chicken, Marylands are a great option; their high fat content makes them great for roasting. Start this recipe two weeks ahead to pickle the lemons.
Prep time 20 mins, cook 1¼ hrs (plus pickling)
Serves 4
4 chicken Marylands (about 350gm each) 60 ml ( 1/ cup) grapeseed oil 4 1 white onion, cut into wedges 4 red birdseye chillies, halved 1 garlic clove, crushed ½ tsp ground turmeric ½ tsp nigella seeds 3 sprigs fresh curry leaves, torn 60 gm natural almonds, coarsely chopped Juice of 1 lime
Steamed basmati rice and yoghurt (optional), to serve
Lemon pickle
1 lemon
1 tbsp grapeseed oil ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds Pinch of brown mustard seeds Pinch of chilli powder
1 For lemon pickle, wash lemon and place in a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water to clean skin, then drain. Rinse, cut into thin wedges, place in a bowl with 2 tbsp salt, squeeze lightly and toss to combine. Transfer wedges to a sterilised jar (see cook’s notes p176) that holds them snugly, pressing down to compact them. Warm oil and spices in a small saucepan over low heat until fragrant and mustard seeds start to pop, pour into jars, seal and store in a cool dark place, turning occasionally, for 2 weeks.
2 Preheat oven to 230C. Place chicken and remaining ingredients except lime juice in a bowl, toss to combine, season to taste, then transfer to a roasting pan that holds chicken snugly. Push spices and almonds around chicken pieces, drizzle with lime juice and roast until golden brown and cooked through (about 50 minutes). Serve with lemon pickle, yoghurt and steamed rice.
Wine suggestion Aromatic, textural blend of gewürztraminer and riesling.
Za’atar roast chicken with pilaf, pomegranate and nuts
This fragrant chicken dish is made to serve in the centre of the table for guests to help themselves. We’ve made the za’atar fresh for a more intense thyme flavour, but by all means buy the blend if you need to save time.
Prep time 30 mins, cook 1½ hrs
Serves 8 40 gm pistachio nuts 40 gm pine nuts 2 chickens (1.5kg each), removed from fridge 20 minutes before cooking 2 onions, thickly sliced 2 tbsp olive oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 lemon, plus extra wedges to serve (optional)
½ pomegranate, arils removed
Finely chopped coriander and plain yoghurt, to serve
Za’atar
1½ tbsp fresh thyme leaves 1½ tbsp dried oregano leaves 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds 2 tsp sumac
Pilaf
1 small onion, finely chopped 2 cinnamon quills 2 cardamom pods, bruised 2 fresh bay leaves 40 gm butter, coarsely chopped 1 tbsp olive oil 400 gm (2 cups) basmati or long-grain rice, rinsed under cold water
700 ml chicken stock
Finely grated rind of ½ lemon
1 Preheat oven to 180C. Roast pistachios and pine nuts on a baking tray until golden (8-12 minutes). Set aside to cool. 2 For za’atar, pound herbs with a mortar and pestle until coarsely crushed, then add sesame seeds and sumac, and pound until finely ground.
3 Rinse chickens inside and out under cold running water, pat dry with paper towels and place in a roasting pan on top of onions. Rub chicken all over with oil, garlic and za’atar, then roast, basting occasionally, until cooked through and juices run clear when thigh is pierced with a skewer (1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes). Increase oven to 250C and roast, basting occasionally, until golden brown (5 minutes). Season to taste with lemon juice and salt and pepper, and rest for 5 minutes.
4 Meanwhile, for pilaf, sauté onions, spices and bay leaves in butter and oil in a casserole over medium heat until onion starts to caramelise
(7-8 minutes). Add rice and stir to coat, then add stock, season to taste and bring to a simmer. Cover, then bake until rice is cooked (15 minutes). Stir in lemon rind, cover with a tea towel and leave to steam for 5-6 minutes.
5 Place rice on a platter, chop chicken into pieces, arrange on pilaf, top with pistachios and pine nuts, pomegranate, coriander and pan juices, and serve with lemon wedges and yoghurt.
Wine suggestion Gutsy, spicy grenache rosé.>
Za’atar roast chicken with pilaf, pomegranate and nuts RICE Large dish from Koskela. Small bowl (with pomegranate) from Zakkia. Plate (top of stack) and Sandy Lockwood small dish (with yoghurt) from Chinaclay. Plate (bottom of stack) from Batch Ceramics. TURMERIC CHICKEN Cup and sugar pot from Chinaclay. Bowls from Batch Ceramics. Saucer from Hay. All other props stylist’s own. Stockists p175.
Roast chicken aided and abetted by provolone piccante and pickled chillies makes a winning sandwich filling.
Chicken and provolone toasties with pickles and caper aïoli
A good toastie is almost reason to roast a bird in itself. Melting cheese adds extra savour, offset by the piquant chillies. Store-bought pickled jalapeños are great here, otherwise start this recipe three days ahead to pickle the chillies.
Prep time 15 mins, cook 10 mins
Makes 4 8 soft sourdough bread slices Softened butter, for spreading ½ roast chicken, meat coarsely shredded 120 gm (1 cup) grated provolone piccante ½ white onion, thinly sliced
Pickled green chillies
500 ml (2 cups) tarragon vinegar
2 tbsp caster sugar
1½ tbsp fine sea salt
8 long green chillies, pierced with a knife
Caper aïoli
250 gm (¾ cup) aïoli
1 cup (loosely packed) mixed soft herbs, such as dill, chives, basil and flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp capers in vinegar, rinsed well, drained,
coarsely chopped
1 For pickled chillies, bring vinegar, sugar, salt and 250ml water to the boil in a saucepan. Place chillies in a tall sterilised jar (see cook’s notes p176), or container that holds them snugly, pour in vinegar solution, seal and store in a cool dark place to pickle (for at least 3 days and up to 3 weeks). Refrigerate after use.
2 For caper aïoli, mix ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.
3 Preheat oven to 140C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Spread bread slices with butter, then turn butter-side down. Arrange chicken on half the slices, top with aïoli, provolone piccante, onion and sliced pickled green chillies, then sandwich with remaining bread.
4 Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add half the sandwiches and cook, turning once, until golden (2 minutes each side). Repeat with remaining sandwiches, transfer to oven tray, place in oven to melt cheese, then serve hot.
Wine suggestion Passionfruity sémillon sauvignon blend.
Roast chicken with sausage stuffing, prunes and pan gravy
We’ve baked the stuffing separately here to crisp it up, but it works well stuffed inside the bird as well. When you make gravy, it’s important to cook out the flour to a brown roux before adding the liquid to give it flavour.
Prep time 40 mins, cook 1 hr 40 mins (plus resting)
Serves 4 2 carrots, coarsely chopped 2 onions, coarsely chopped 1 chicken (1.5kg), removed from fridge 20 minutes before cooking Melted butter, for brushing 1 tbsp olive oil 12 pitted prunes 200 ml dry white wine 2 heaped tbsp plain flour 500 ml (2 cups) brown chicken stock (see note), at room temperature
Buttery mashed potato, to serve
Sausage stuffing
2 tbsp olive oil 40 gm butter, coarsely chopped ½ onion, finely chopped 8 sage leaves, thinly sliced 1 tsp thyme, coarsely chopped 100 gm crustless sourdough bread, diced 6 small chicken sausages (about 550gm), skins removed, meat crumbled
1 For sausage stuffing, preheat oven to 180C and line a shallow loaf tin with foil. Heat oil and butter in a saucepan over low heat, and sauté onion until softened (10-15 minutes). Add sage and thyme, and sauté until fragrant (30 seconds to 1 minute), then stir in sourdough, season to taste, and transfer to a tray to cool. Add sausage meat and toss to combine, then transfer mixture to prepared tin.
2 Scatter carrot and onion in a small roasting pan. Place chicken on top of vegetables, brush with melted butter, drizzle with olive oil, season to taste, then scatter prunes around chicken and pour in white wine. Roast chicken and stuffing separately until chicken juices run clear when pierced, and stuffing is cooked, golden and crisp on top (1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes; cover stuffing with foil if it browns too quickly). Transfer chicken to a plate to rest (10 minutes). Reserve prunes separately, and vegetables if desired.
3 Reserve 2 tbsp of fat from the pan juices, then drain off the remainder (if you haven’t got 2 tbsp, top them up with a little melted butter), return to pan and place over medium-high heat on the stovetop. Add flour and stir continuously until it turns golden brown, ensuring it doesn’t burn (3-4 minutes). Gradually add stock a cup at a time, whisking continuously to emulsify between additions, until gravy comes to a simmer and thickens. Season to taste (strain gravy if you prefer it very smooth).
4 Cut chicken into pieces and serve with buttery mashed potato, prunes and stuffing. Drizzle with a little gravy and serve the remaining gravy in a jug. Note To make 2 litres brown chicken stock, brown 1kg chicken carcasses in a roasting pan in a 240C oven, turning occasionally, until well browned (40-50 minutes). Transfer to a large saucepan or stockpot. Deglaze roasting pan with water, scraping up caramelised residue, then add to pot with enough water to just cover bones. Bring to a simmer, ladling off scum as it comes to the surface, then reduce heat to low and simmer, topping up water so bones remain just covered, for 2 hours. Strain and cool. Stock will keep for 3 days refrigerated or 3 months frozen.
Wine suggestion Top-quality Beaujolais.>
Roast chicken salad with celeriac, radicchio and pink grapefruit
This lovely salad is a fine way to use leftover roast chicken. Serve the meat cold or warm it up – either way it’s delicious.
Prep time 15 mins, cook 15 mins
Serves 2-4 (pictured p89) 35 gm ( 1/ cup) walnuts 3 5 cornichons, thinly sliced 1 head radicchio, leaves separated and torn ¼ Spanish onion, thinly sliced
¼ peeled celeriac (about 250gm), cut into matchsticks
½ roast chicken, meat removed from the bone and cut into bite-sized pieces
Pink grapefruit dressing
Juice of ½ pink grapefruit Juice 1/ lemon
2
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Preheat oven to 180C. Roast walnuts on a baking tray until golden (10-12 minutes). Cool, then coarsely chop.
2 Meanwhile, for dressing, whisk ingredients in a bowl to combine and season to taste.
3 Combine remaining ingredients and walnuts in a large bowl, drizzle with dressing, toss lightly to combine, season to taste and serve.
Wine suggestion Crisp, crunchy vermentino.
Roast chicken with bread sauce
Bread sauce, made with milk infused with cloves, onion and bay, is a classic accompaniment to chicken. Start this recipe a day ahead to brine the chicken. This step can be skipped, but brining produces juicier meat.
Prep time 30 mins, cook 1¾ hrs (plus brining, resting)
Serves 4 (pictured p88) 125 gm (½ cup) fine salt 2 tbsp caster sugar 1 chicken (1.5kg), at room temperature 4 lemons 2 garlic cloves, bruised 2 fresh bay leaf sprigs 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling 1½ onions, thickly sliced into rings Melted butter, for brushing
Bread sauce
20 gm butter 1 tbsp olive oil ½ onion, finely chopped 1 small garlic clove, peeled and bruised 1 dried bay leaf 4 cloves 300 ml chicken stock 200 ml milk 170 gm crustless bread, diced
1 tsp sour cream, or to taste
1 Stir salt and sugar with 500ml boiling water in a heatproof bowl until dissolved. Add 3 litres cold water, transfer to a plastic container and refrigerate until chilled (2 hours). Add chicken to brine and refrigerate overnight. Remove chicken from brine, rinse under cold running water, pat dry with paper towels, then stand for 20 minutes to come to room temperature.
2 Boil 2 whole lemons in a saucepan of water until just tender (8-10 minutes). Cool briefly, then coarsely chop (discard seeds). Mix in a bowl with garlic and a bruised bay leaf, stuff into chicken cavity and set aside.
3 Preheat oven to 180C. Heat oil in a flameproof roasting pan over medium-high heat, add onion rings and fry, turning once, until starting to caramelise (5-6 minutes). Place chicken on top. Brush chicken with melted butter, then drizzle with olive oil. Halve remaining lemons and squeeze over chicken, then add lemon husks and remaining bay leaf sprig to pan. Season chicken, tie legs together with kitchen string, then roast, basting with pan juices or extra butter occasionally, until juices run clear when thickest part of thigh is pierced (about 1½ hours). Increase oven to 250C and roast just until skin browns to your liking (5-6 minutes). Remove from oven and rest for 10 minutes.
4 Meanwhile, for bread sauce, heat butter and oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, bay leaf and cloves, and sauté until onion softens (10-15 minutes). Add stock and milk, bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and simmer gently for (5-6 minutes). Stir in bread, simmer until it absorbs the liquid (4-5 minutes), then process in a blender until smooth. Stir in sour cream, season to taste, and add more milk if you prefer a thinner sauce. Serve chicken and pan onions with bread sauce. Wine suggestion Fine cooler-climate chardonnay.
Roast spatchcock with choganjang and sesame cucumbers
Spatchcocks are the perfect size to serve one per person. We’ve served these with choganjang, an essential dipping sauce in Korean cuisine. Start this recipe up to a day ahead to marinate the spatchcocks.
Prep time 20 mins, cook 45 mins (plus marinating)
Serves 4
4 spatchcocks (500gm each), butterflied, at room temperature 2 tbsp ssämjang (see note) 1 garlic clove, crushed, plus 1 extra, thinly sliced 2 tbsp dark soy sauce Fresh steamed rice noodles, to serve 1 tbsp grapeseed oil mixed with 2 tsp sesame oil
Sesame cucumbers
2 tbsp white vinegar 2 tbsp caster sugar 1 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds, plus extra to serve
Sesame oil, to taste
400 gm baby cucumbers, thickly sliced ½ white onion, very thinly sliced
Torn coriander, to serve
Choganjang
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Chinese brown vinegar 1 tsp finely grated ginger 1 spring onion, sliced
1 Rub spatchcocks with ssämjang and crushed garlic, place in a snap-lock bag with half the soy sauce and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight to marinate.
2 Preheat oven to 220C. Place spatchcock in a roasting pan skin-side up, drizzle with remaining soy sauce and roast, basting occasionally, until golden brown and juices run clear when the thickest part of the thighs is pierced with a skewer (35-40 minutes).
3 For sesame cucumbers, combine vinegar, sugar and soy sauce with 50ml water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cool, then place in a blender with sesame seeds, process until smooth, add sesame oil and season to taste. Place cucumbers and onion in a bowl, add dressing and extra sesame seeds, toss to coat and season to taste.
4 For choganjang, combine ingredients in a bowl, adjust to taste with soy and vinegar, add spring onion and set aside.
5 Divide noodles and spatchcock among serving plates. Heat oils in a small saucepan over medium heat, add sliced garlic and heat until garlic just starts to change colour (about 1 minute), stir in spring onion, then pour mixture over spatchcock and serve with choganjang and the sesame cucumbers.
Note Ssämjang is a Korean chilli condiment.
If it’s unavailable, use another chilli sauce of your choice. Chinese brown vinegar is available from Asian grocers.
Wine suggestion Toasty bottle-aged riesling.
SPATCHCOCKS Sandy Lockwood dinner plates and Stephanie Hammill jug from Chinaclay. Saucer from Hay. TEXT PAGE Hide from NSW Leather. Cup from Chinaclay. Coaster from Jardan. All other props stylist’s own. Stockists p175. Roast spatchcock with choganjang and sesame cucumbers
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Roasted, fried or crumbed katsu-style, chicken makes the best sandwich filling. Head online for the best ideas between sliced bread: gourmettraveller.com.au