All the ingredients in this dish are timed perfectly. Every single one is in season right now, at the exact same time. Other than the fresh ingredients, there are a few pantry staples like honey and cider vinegar. The fresh ingredients include: gala apples, red peppers, jalapenos, Roma tomatoes and sweet onions.
This recipe is your basic "Chop and Drop", as Rachel Ray might say!
You chop the stuff.
And then ya drop it in the pot.
Turn it on, and walk off.
Here's what it looked like going in to the pot...
And here's what it looked like when it came out of the pot.
Don't get me wrong, I love a nice oven-roasted chicken all on it's own, but sometimes, you just gotta shake it up a little bit. This chutney was totally interesting, and had a surprising combo of flavors. It smells tart from the cider vinegar as it cooks, but the finished flavor is the perfect blend of tartness and sweetness, with a little kick from the jalapeno. I thought this thing was brilliant. This could turn me into a chutney-holic. There are other chutneys and sauces in this book, so expect to see more in upcoming posts!
Besides serving it on meat, I think it would make a lovely cracker topping, on cream cheese, and maybe topped with a little roll of turkey lunchmeat! Or same thing in a wrap...cream cheese, turkey, and chutney. This would be a cute, fun, lunchbox way to use up the leftovers.
The recipe makes a lot, considering it is a condiment, not a side-dish. This would be a good "company" dinner and it might even be good to make the chutney a day ahead. It "gels" a bit more as it sits, and I have a feeling the flavors will mingle and marry even more by the next day. It can be served hot, or cold.
I know y'all are going to hate me for extolling the virtues of this delicious dish and then doing this to you...but, I could not find this recipe anywhere on the internet to be able to share it with you! And I'm a tad uncomfortable posting it here, word for word, even with proper credit given. Therefore...ya-on-ya-own with this one. If it sounds interesting, and you think you'd enjoy it, you can always check the book out from the library. And really...you'll want to check this book out anyway; it's awesome. I'm loving everything I've made so far (with my gluten-free, whole-foods, full-fat substitutions, of course!). I would say that this book has been worth every penny I spent for it. No, no one is paying me to say that. I genuinely love it.
So now for the roasted chicken part: A basic oven roasted chicken is SO ridiculously simple. Don't blink or you might miss it.
I usually do this in my deep covered baker (Pampered Chef stoneware), but it can also be done in just a regular roasting pan. No special equipment required. ( Here's the Barefoot Contessa version, done in a roasting pan.)
Here's how I do it in my DCB:
1. Take out any giblets that might be in the cavity of your bird. Rinse and dry it with paper towels.
2. Stick it in your baker.
3. Drizzle on a little oil, and season it. (I used olive oil, and seasoned the bird with Costco brand "Organic No Salt" seasoning, and, (ironically...) salt. But you could do whatever you like: poultry seasoning, lemon pepper, garlic and basil, or just regular salt and pepper!)
4. Add a little moisture (like a 1/4 cup) to the bottom of roaster--I used white wine. You could use stock or broth if you want.
I never bother tying the legs together when doing this in the baker, unless it's Thanksgiving and I'm doing a big turkey in a roasting pan.
5. Lid on.
6. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven. It usually takes 70-80 minutes. (In a roasting pan it takes a bit longer, like 90 minutes) Check for doneness with a meat thermometer. Juices should run clear.
7. Take it out of the oven and let it sit and rest for a little while (I like to give it at least 10 or 15 minutes) before carving, so it can retain all those lovely juices.
All done. Ok yes...it looks somewhat immodest. It would be much prettier neatly trussed, with it's legs primly crossed at the ankles, and wings properly tucked under!
Maybe your family will eat it all that night, or maybe you will just use the breast meat and make sandwiches. If that's the case, you can make chicken salad, or put the leftover chicken ON a green salad, or make soup, or roll-up wraps, or whatever you want to do with any leftover meat you have tomorrow.
Might as well roast two birds while you're at it. Yes, of course, for Pete's sake...why in the world did I only do one bird today?!? That just makes no sense what-so-ever. Mercy, that's annoying. Ok, from this day forward, this is going to be a FOUNDATIONAL principle around here: Double! Double! Less toil. Less trouble!! No more of this single-dinner nonsense. If I'm cooking, doggone it, it's going to be at least two meals worth, if not more!! No reason to do dishes for one meal. Sigh. Ok. I'm fine. Moving on.
Tomorrow, we're going to make stock out of the carcass...in the crock pot of course. There is virtually no need to have a pot simmering on the stove all day when you can just toss it in the crock early in the morning, and never think about it again til that night.
I love me some EASY and FREE chicken stock. :) See you tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment