Zuni Roast Chicken with Bread Salad






We have a bit of a predicament going on in my house, as the only meat I will eat is Chicken and the only meat my husband will not eat is well yes you guessed it-chicken. So it appears as though it has become my lifes mission to come up with chicken recipes that my husband will not only eat but enjoy and not act as though he is being handed down a fate worst than death by being served chicken. The only recipe I can actually say that has accomplished this thus far has been the Zuni Cafe Chicken. If you ever have a chance to google this recipe, you will see it has somewhat of a cult following and for very good reason-it is darn good. What makes this chicken so good you ask? Well it has great flavor and it is oh so succulent. I am telling you no part of this chicken is dry, not even the breasts!

For this recipe Chef Judy Rogers only has 2 real hard and fast rules:
1. You must use a small chicken under 4 pounds prefereably 2-3 1/2 pounds. A jumbo roaster she says will be too lean and won't tolerate the high heat.
2. You must salt your chicken at least 24 hours in advance. This is will make the chicken tender, moist and give it flavor. Judy explains "First, salt helps dissolve some of the proteins within and around muscle fibres that would otherwise resist chewing. A second process is more complex, Initially salt does draw moisture from cells-whence the widely accepted belief that it dries food out. However, the quiet trauma of osmosis is temporary. With time, the cells reabsorb moisture, in reverse osmosis." Seriously she spends pages and pages explaining the process in detail. Every home chef needs this book in their collection.

This recipe may be bit more involved in that it requires a little planning and foresight, but trust me it is well worth the effort. The recipe is accompanied by a bread salad that you should at least try once. I usually do not make the bread salad with it as it's a bit labor intensive for me. I usually just serve it with my favorite side dish.

Zuni Roast Chicken with Bread Salad
Adapted from the Zuni Cafe cookbook by Judy Rogers

Ingredients
For the chicken
One small chicken, under 4lbs
4 sprigs fresh thyme, marjoram, rosemary or sage,
Salt
freshly cracked black pepper



For the salad

Generous 8 ounces slightly stale open-crumbed, chewy, peasant-style bread (not sourdough)
6 to 8 tablespoons mild-tasting olive oil
1-1/2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon dried currants
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, or as needed
1 tablespoon warm water
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 to 3 garlic cloves, slivered
1/4 cup slivered scallions (about 4 scallions), including a little of the green part
2 tablespoons lightly salted Chicken Stock or lightly salted water
A few handfuls of arugula, frisée, or red mustard greens

Directions
Chicken
1. Wash and thoroughly dry your chicken.
2. Season generously with salt and pepper.
3. Add the herbs- take your finger to the edge of the cavity and slide under the skin and make a pocket, then slide the herbs all the way through. Repeat to the other breast.
4. Wrap loosely and refrigerate.
5. To make chicken, Preheat oven to 475.
6. Heat a small roasting pan or skillet. It does not need to be larger then 10 inches. I used a 12 inch cast iron skillet. Dry your chicken and place on baking dish breast side up.
7. Place the center of the oven and watch for it to start browning. After 20 minutes. if it doesn’t brown, raise the temperature until it does. The skin should blister, but if the chicken begins to burn, reduce temperature by 25 degrees. After about 30 minutes, flip the bird over. Roast for another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on size, then flip back over to recrisp the breast skin, for the final 5 to 10 minutes.
8. Total oven time will be 45 minutes to an hour.
9. Remove Chicken

Salad
1. Turn on broiler. Cut up bread into irregular chunks without the crust.
2. Combine 1/4 cup of the olive oil with the Champagne or white wine vinegar and salt and pepper.
3. Combine 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette with the torn bread in a wide salad bowl.
4. Place the currants in a small bowl and moisten with the red wine vinegar and warm water. Set aside.
5. While the chicken is in the oven, put the pine nuts in a small baking dish and heat for a couple minutes.
6. Take about a tbsp of olive oil and put in a small skillet, add the garlic and scallions, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until softened and add to the bread.
7. Drain the plumped currants and fold in.
8. Add chicken stock or lightly salted water over the salad and fold again.
9. Add salt and pepper as needed.
10. Put the salad in a shallow baking dish, cover with tinfoil and put in oven about 5 minutes before chicken is due to be removed from oven.
11. Lift the chicken from the roasting pan and set aside on a plate. Turn of heat but leave bread salad for another 5 minutes to continue to heat. Carefully pour the clear fat from the roasting oven, leaving the lean drippings behind. Add about a tablespoon of water to the hot pan and swirl it.
12. Remove any remaining fat from roasting pan. Turn heat to medium-low heat and add any juice that has collected under the chicken, and bring to a simmer. Stir and scrape to soften any hard golden drippings.
13. Put bread mixture into a salad bowl and add a tablespoon of the drippings. Add the greens and a bit more vinegrette.
14. Cut the chicken into pieces, spread the bread salad on a warm platter, and place the chicken on top.

Phew that was long!! Enjoy!!!

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