My New Book + Roasted Chicken with Gremolata = Excellent Eating

A lot happened in 2010, but topping the list was the completion of a new cookbook I am really excited about. Inspired by the farmers’ market and my crazy cravings throughout the year, this book reads almost like a kitchen diary—it’s filled with personal anecdotes and the recipes reflect exactly how I eat throughout the changing seasons. Expect loads of kale (which I love and is easy to prepare) and no fava beans (which I also love, but are such a pain in the you-know-what that they are restaurant-food-only in my life). No title yet, but the phrase “excellent eating” might play a role, since it’s the perfect sum of my food philosophy. If there’s one thing I want to stick in people’s brains it’s that we should all be eating food that is excellently grown, prepared, and enjoyed as often as possible.

Sadly, I have to wait until the book comes out in September to share the whole thing, but I thought I would start tempting you now by posting a sample recipe from the book each month. The book is divided into twelve months of the year, so here’s one of my favorites from the January section—a crisp, succulent chicken roasted with spiced chickpeas and slivers of caramelized lemon. That shower of green herbs you see in the above photo is a zesty parsley gremolata. This dish is seriously beautiful and without a doubt qualifies as excellent eating.

 

Crisp Roasted Chicken with Chickpeas, Lemons, and Carrots with Parsley Gremolata

When I flip through food magazines, I rarely read the recipes. I look at the photos and imagine what I think the recipe should be. Most of the time I get it pretty close but sometimes I’m way off base. This recipe is an example of that.

    The photo was of a roasted chicken on a bed of chickpeas and what I thought were tiny cubes of carrot. I could taste the dish in my head. The chickpeas were crunchy and salty next to the melting, sweet carrots and everything was suffused with chicken fat from the roasting bird.

    In fact, the carrots turned out to be bits of orange bell pepper (definitely not in season in January in New York) and the chickpeas were added to the pan during the last few minutes of cooking so they would stay moist and soft, without the time to absorb much in the way of chicken essence. I’m sure it was a perfectly good dish. But I liked my own idea better.

    So next time I roasted a chicken, I tried it.

    I placed the chicken on a rack over the chickpeas and carrot slices so all the good juices would drip down onto them. I also added slivered lemon because I love the way lemons caramelize when you roast them, and I figured the dish would need some zip. While it roasted, I chopped together a mix of parsley, lemon zest, and garlic known as gremolata (which is usually served with osso buco) to sprinkle on top. I knew it would give the whole thing some color and a little kick from the garlic, which would be welcome with all the hearty flavors.

     When everything was done, the chicken was burnished, shining and fragrant, and the chickpeas, lemon bits, and carrots were caramelized and tender. It was so pretty I immediately had to take a picture, which looks nothing like the food porn photo that was its inspiration. I can’t say how the flavors compare, but my chicken was darned good – intensely lemony and very succulent and the chickpeas as tempting as bacon. Maybe one day I’ll dig up that other recipe to give it a whirl….though given how delightful this dish is, maybe not.

Serves 4

For the Chicken:
2 lemons
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons garam masala
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 (3 1/2-pound) whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry
4 thyme sprigs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 pound carrots, peeled, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch rounds

For the Gremolata:
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Quarter the lemons lengthwise and remove and discard any seeds. Thinly slice six of the lemon quarters crosswise (you will get little triangles) and in a bowl, toss them with the chickpeas, oil, 1/2 tablespoon (which equals 1 1/2 teaspoons if you don’t have a 1/2 tablespoons measure) of the garam masala, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

3. Season the inside of the chicken cavity with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Fill the cavity with remaining wedges of lemon and thyme sprigs. Rub the outside of the chicken all over with the remaining 1 tablespoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Rub the butter all over the skin.

4. Scatter the carrots in the bottom of the largest roasting pan you have (use the one you use for your Thanksgiving turkey). Place a wire roasting rack over the carrots; arrange the chicken, breast-side-up, on the rack. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast, stirring the carrots occasionally, for 30 minutes. Scatter the chickpea mixture into the bottom of the roasting pan. Continue to roast until the chicken’s thigh juices run clear when pierced with a knife, 45 to 60 minutes longer. Let chicken rest 5 minutes before carving.

5. Meanwhile, combine the parsley, lemon zest, and garlic in a bowl. Spoon the carrot-chickpea mixture onto a platter; arrange the chicken on top. Sprinkle the gremolata over the dish and serve.

What Else?
- For a more traditional Sunday supper-type roasted chicken, you can skip the chickpeas and lemon bits and instead just add a pound of cubed potatoes to the pan along with the carrots. Season carrots and potatoes with salt and pepper and give them a stir once or twice while the chicken roasts. This is good with or without the gremolata.

- Some farmers’ market chickens have tough old legs – they develop actual muscle tone from the exercise they get pecking for grubs around the farm. If you suspect you’ve got one (or you know you do from prior experience with a particular farm), you might want to carve them off the chicken carcass and give them a head start in the oven before adding the breast. That way your breast won’t dry out in the long time that the legs will need to soften. To do this, carve the legs off the bird and smear those legs and the rest of the chicken carcass with the butter, salt, and seasonings. Put the legs in the pan (along with the carrots) to roast for 15 minutes before adding the carcass with the breasts (tuck the lemon and herbs inside the cavity before roasting). Overall time will be a tad longer than called for above, just keep checking to see when the juices run clear with a knife.

-Yes, you can eat the caramelized lemon slices.

Comments

[Kasey]

Sounds amazing. Can't wait to hear more!

[amyrose]

Thank you--this is the most creative roast chicken I've run across in a long time, and the most appealing. Definitely making this.

[chris]

i rented the book from the library and now i am going to purchase it. LOVE IT!!!! u should be proud. since i had twins, i'm more picky with the books i buy. i never thought i would be interested in this but i first ur entries, then i read the recipes. hanks for all the veg. you r fricking hilarious. most excellent. hope it does amazingly well (and now i'm going to try to go to the farmer's market, too). your cousin in staten island.

[tea_austen]

Yay—Kitchen Diaries according to Melissa!
Congrats on the new kid on the block. Can't wait to see the final product.

[Liz the Chef]

Oh, you are going to tempt us all spring and summer until your book is available in September? I'm definitely in to sample each monthly "offering". Thanks!

[Sal Boca]

This is a brilliant winter dish, thanks. I made quite a few of your suggestions last year, including my Recipe of the Year for 2010 -

http://porkalicious.blogspot.com/

Boozy fruit, dude. Bless you for boozy fruit.

[RJ]

I wrote a comment last night but I don't see it...I am so excited about the new book!!! Thanks so much!! Can't wait!!!! If it is as great as In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite...we are in for a treat!!

[Jenious]

I'm really intrigued by the addition of chickpeas. It's such a pretty looking roast too!

[Matthew]

Is the Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake included in the new book? I recently decided to make it again as a bundt cake. I had to make 1.5 times the recipe in order to have enough batter and it works beautifully except for one annoying little defect. I've been plagued by a purple-bluish color that shows up around the orange segments in the cake. It tastes delicious of course, but the blue hue isn't particularly appetizing to the eye. Any suggestions?

[Jodi]

Can't wait Melissa. You're recipes never fail to blow me away, from the simple to the stunning, they always work, are not too fussy, and are always well tested. You are definitely my "go to" when it comes to new kitchen inspiration. Keep up the good work!

[Jammy Chick]

I am looking forward to the new book! I really enjoyed 'In the kitchen with a good appetite'. I especially like your granola recipe (which I just posted about), but everything I have made so far has been excellent.

[Jocelyn]

Is it possible that this recipe is better than the one with the roast chicken with the over-sized croutons?! We'll see ;-).

[Yasmin]

I just made this chicken tonight and it IS delicious! The gremolata certainly rounds out the dish. I highly recommend that everyone try to make this at least once...

[CookiePie]

Wonderful - congratulations, and I'll look forward to buying the book! In the meantime, thanks for the sample recipe!! The chicken looks divine!