A sweetly savory kind of bird
It’s an excellent way to use first of fall pears, last of summer figs.
For most of the year, I go full-on savory when roasting a chicken. The more garlic, mustard, chiles and lemon I can stuff into the cavity and rub under the skin, the happier I’ll be.
Around the Jewish holidays, though, my preferences take a sugary turn. Once Rosh Hashana leaps into view, honeyed visions edge out the anchovy-filled ones, and I embrace the tradition of eating sweet foods to usher in a joyous Jewish New Year.
Like a lot of Jewish cooks, I tend to interpret “sweet” pretty literally, pouring honey into nearly everything at the table — apples, the challah, the side dishes, the entree and naturally the dessert.
This year, I’m going to take a more moderate path and roast up a bird that splits the difference between savory and sweet.
The biggest change I’m making is losing the honey and using a combination of fruit instead. Some of the fruit — a mix of ripe pears and figs — is tossed in the pan with the chicken after it’s been roasting for half an hour. While the bird finishes cooking, its skin renders and crisps, and the fruit caramelizes amid the melted chicken fat. That schmaltz — imbued with garlic, rosemary and orange zest — keeps the sweetness in check.
Then the rest of the fruit comes in: To serve, I top everything with a bracing fresh orange relish shot through with sherry vinegar, garlic and flaky sea salt. It adds exactly the kind of tangy juiciness you’d want to counter the sticky, caramelized schmaltz and roasted fruit.
You can certainly make this even if you’re not cooking for the Jewish holidays. This bronzeskinned chicken recipe is an excellent way to use the first of the fall pears and the last of the summer figs as they overlap for just a few short weeks. If you can’t find fresh figs, little purple plums (those same ones that you may be hoarding for a certain very popular torte) would make a terrific substitute.
Serve it all with something green, salad or otherwise (green beans would be nice), and something starchy like roasted potatoes or a creamy-crunchy noodle kugel.
Then, if you like, you can also slather some apple slices with loads of honey — whether you’re celebrating a holiday, or just reveling in a lovely autumn meal.
CITRUSY ROAST CHICKEN WITH PEARS AND FIGS
Total time: 1 ½ hours, plus marinating Yield: 4 servings 3 garlic cloves
1 large orange
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary, plus 2 whole sprigs
2 teaspoons fine sea salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
1 (3 ½- to 4-pound) whole
chicken, patted dry Extra-virgin olive oil, for
drizzling
8 seckel pears, halved and cored (or use 4 small ripe Bartlett, Anjou or other pears, quartered)
8 ounces ripe fresh figs (4 to 6
figs), halved lengthwise Sherry vinegar, for serving Flaky sea salt, for serving
½ cup parsley leaves, coarsely
chopped, for serving
1. Peel 2 of the garlic cloves and finely grate or mash to a paste. Grate 1 teaspoon zest from the orange (reserve zested orange and remaining garlic clove for serving).
2. In a small bowl, combine garlic and zest with 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary, salt and pepper.
3. Place chicken on a 13-by-17inch rimmed baking sheet, and rub rosemary mixture all over chicken including underneath the skin and inside the cavity. Chill uncovered in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
4. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Stuff chicken with rosemary sprigs. Drizzle chicken lightly with oil and roast for 30 minutes.
5. Remove baking sheet from oven and carefully arrange pears and figs, cut-side down, on the hot pan. Continue to roast until chicken is cooked through, another 15 to 25 minutes.
6. Transfer chicken to a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Roast pears and figs another 5 to 10 minutes, if necessary, until they are caramelized and tender.
7. Cut the white pith off the orange, then cut out orange segments into bite-size pieces. Finely grate or mash the remaining garlic clove.
8. To serve, transfer figs, pears and chicken to a platter. In the pan with chicken juices, toss orange segments, remaining garlic clove and a drizzle of sherry vinegar; taste and season with flaky sea salt, if needed. Spoon oranges and pan juices over chicken and fruit on platter, and top with chopped parsley and more flaky sea salt.