As you have learned from my last post, I really like pictures of food. I always pick what I'm going to make based on the image beside the recipe. I hate cookbooks that don't have pictures in them. I need to be able to visualize the finished product! I so appreciate magazines such as Cook's Illustrated from a technical standpoint, but I can't handle all the pencil sketches...all the illustrations, if you will. Anyway, all of this to say that when I decided I was going to make this recipe it was purely for the picture that displayed beautiful lemon slices, golden roasted chicken, and tender Jerusalem Artichokes. Yes I could tell they were tender from the image. Soooo...I had already started making this recipe when I saw the step that said "marinate overnight", and I had to keep going and simply put that sucker away for a little nap. The lesson here is that I am going to get into marinating more because this was delicious and it was so nice to be able to just pop everything into the roasting pan because all the prep had been done the night before. OK and as a side note before I keep going: I love grocery shopping so much and I won't get into the specifics right now because I could write a novel about the subject. Anyway every Saturday or Sunday I get really excited to head out to the grocery store and get my shop on. In the summer it's great because I stop at all my favourite places in the neighbourhood. On Saturday I decided to do a one stop shop and head to Loblaws and it sucked. So overpriced and for how big it is, no selection. I did not have a fun time and maybe this is sad but grocery shopping is the weekend activity that I look forward to the most. I seriously find it therapeutic. Unless the person I'm with is rushing me and then it makes me anxious. Where am I going with this I came on here to post about the chicken recipe.
OK OK so the chicken. It's so good. Here is a picture of it in the dish before it went into the oven:
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| 1 tsp saffron = a lot of class |
So nice right? Look at all the little saffron threads. When I use saffron I feel like the recipe is very classy because so few recipes call for it, and when they do it's in such small amounts. This recipe called for 1tsp saffron threads. That is a lot!!! I didn't even know if I had that much to spare. Saffron is not cheap...
This is the finished product:
THE CHICKEN WAS READY FOR ITS CLOSE-UP
See the juices in the lower left corner?? I could drink those juices and I did drink them right out of the pan. Don't be afraid to serve yourself lots of pan juices. I know you're saying "but it's the fatttttttt". It is, but fat = flavour, and fat really isn't all that bad. Seriously. Aside from being delicious, the fat will keep you full long after dinner so that you don't find yourself in front of the fridge at 8PM. Plus, it's not fat that gives you heart disease, it's refined carbs. I won't get into the science of this but I am asking you to trust me on this one because I'm a nutritionist. Eat the fat!
This recipe is from one of my favourite cookbooks, Jerusalem. If you like food that is bursting with flavour then you will love this cookbook. I am on a huge Middle Eastern/Jewish food kick right now and this cookbook along with Plenty and Jewish Cooking by Marlena Spieler are my current go-to's for authentic and delicious recipes.
Roasted chicken with Jerusalem artichokes* & Lemon
From Jerusalem by Sami Tamimi and Yotam Ottolenghi
1 lb Jerusalem artichokes peeled and cut lengthwise into 6 wedges
3 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, or 4 whole chicken legs, or 1 medium chicken quartered
12 banana or large shallots, halved lengthwise
12 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 medium lemon, halved lengthwise and then very thinly sliced
1 tsp saffron threads
3.5 T olive oil
1/2 cup cold water
1.5 T pink peppercorns, lightly crushed
1/4 cups fresh thyme leaved
1 cup tarragon leaves, chopped
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Put the Jerusalem artichokes in a medium saucepan, cover with plenty of water, and add half of the lemon juice. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10-20 minutes, until tender but not soft. Drain and leave to cool.
Place the artichokes and all remaining ingredients, excluding the remaining lemon juice and half of the tarragon, in a large mixing bowl and use your hands to mix everything together well. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight.
Preheat the oven to 475. Arrange the chicken pieces in the centre of a roasting pan, skin side up. Spread the remaining ingredients around the chicken. Roast for 30 minutes. Cover the pan with foil and roast for 15 more minutes. Remove from the oven and add reserved tarragon and lemon juice. Stir well, taste, and add more salt if needed. I am a big salt person and I didn't need to add any more because the dish was already so flavourful. Also, I wanted my chicken to be a little more brown and crispy looking so I put it under the broiler for a few minutes at the end just to bring a little more colour to it.
I served the chicken with a salad of thinly sliced cabbage, dill, lemon, garlic, thinly sliced apples, and raisins. We wanted something fresh and light to go with the chicken but ideally you would serve it with the popular Middle Eastern dish called Mejadra. If I had guests over and I really wanted to impress them then I would have made this dish as well. It's so hearty and filling, and plays well against the lemon and garlic on the chicken.
That is all for today-- go forth and make this chicken!!!
* not really artichokes but actually sunflower tubers that taste like artichokes. not really an official Jerusalem vegetable (but they love to eat it there) but rather a name that was distorted from the original Italian pronunciation, girasole articiocco.
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