In the Hands of a Chef (36 page)

2 cups cooked chickpeas (see page 230), if using canned chickpeas, rinse well

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

DO AHEAD:
Make the spice paste and rub it into the hens 4 hours ahead of time; cover the hens loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook. Cook the chickpeas.

1.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2.
Mix the garlic, paprika, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, cumin, coriander, saffron with its lemon juice, and ¼ cup of the vegetable oil in a large bowl to make a spice paste. Toss the hens in the bowl with the spice paste and rub them until they’re evenly coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Marinate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

3.
Remove the hens from the refrigerator; do not scrape off the marinade. Sprinkle the hens liberally inside and out with salt. Put a lemon quarter and one-quarter of the raisins in the cavity of each bird. Put the onions in the bottom of a roasting pan, season with salt and
pepper, and toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Put two V-racks (or arrange two regular racks into a V) over the onions, and place 2 hens breast side down on each rack.

4.
Roast for 30 minutes, then turn the birds breast side up, give the onions a stir, and roast for an additional 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chickpeas to the pan and roast for an additional 15 minutes, or until the skin has browned and the hens are cooked through.

The juices should run clear from the thickest part of the thigh when poked with a skewer; an instant-read digital thermometer inserted at the same spot should read 165°F. Transfer the hens to a platter.

5.
Add the chopped parsley to the vegetable mixture in the roasting pan, stir, and taste for seasonings. Spoon the mixture around the platter. Garnish with the remaining lemon quarters. Serve immediately.

O
ne cup of dried chickpeas
will make about 2
½
cups cooked. Dried chickpeas are so hard they need to be treated more like beans than peas, which means they need to soak before cooking. You can soak them using either the overnight or the quick-soak method. Whichever method you use, pick through them first to remove any stones or debris.

OVERNIGHT METHOD:
Soak the chickpeas in 4 times their volume of cold water (e.g., cover 1 cup chickpeas with 4 cups water). Here “overnight” actually means “for at least 4 hours, “ which could mean all morning or all afternoon, or whatever your schedule dictates. The point is, they need to soak for at least 4 hours, and a few hours longer won’t hurt them. Skim off any chickpeas that float to the surface. Drain and rinse the soaked chickpeas thoroughly and examine them again to be sure no small stones have escaped your notice.

QUICK-SOAK METHOD:
Place the chickpeas in a large pot with 4 times their volume in water. Bring to a boil for a full minute, then turn off the heat, cover, and let soak for an hour. Drain and rinse thoroughly, and examine again for any remaining stones.

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked, drained, and rinsed

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

½ small onion, cut into quarters

½ small celery stalk

2 bay leaves

Kosher salt

1. Put the soaked chickpeas in a medium saucepan with 8 cups cold water. Boil for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to a simmer. Skim off any scum.

2. Add the olive oil, onion, celery, and bay leaves. Simmer, partly covered, until the chickpeas are tender, 1½ hours or more. Depending on their quality and age, chickpeas vary considerably in cooking time.

3. After the chickpeas are tender, add the salt. (If you add the salt before they’re tender their skins will toughen.) Simmer for 10 minutes more so they can absorb the salt. Drain. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.

W
hen I get a craving
for chicken with crispy skin, I go straight to this variation on the classic
pollo ala diavolo.
Crackling skin and copious amounts of red pepper—that’s enough for me. Weighting butterflied chickens with bricks or other heavy objects as they cook keeps the birds flat, pressing their skin against the cooking surface so they crisp evenly. I rely on bricks wrapped in foil, but you can use just about anything as long as it’s clean and heatproof (antique pressing irons would be ideal). Leftovers are perfect picnic fare; the skin doesn’t become soggy after it cools, as cold fried chicken skin does.

Look no further than this recipe for a reason to purchase a few extra inexpensive cast-iron skillets (each flattened bird cooks in its own frying pan). I’ve tried playing with the technique, searing the birds briefly and then letting them finish cooking in the oven, but they just don’t taste the same and the skin isn’t as crisp.

CHICKEN

4 free-range baby (poussin) chickens or Rock Cornish game hens (about 1 pound each)

1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more if needed

Kosher salt

SAUCE

1½ teaspoon sherry vinegar Kosher salt

2 shallots, thinly sliced

½ cup dry sherry

2 cups Chicken Stock (page 31) or 4 cups highquality canned low-sodium chicken broth, reduced to 2 cups (see page 32)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon sherry vinegar

Kosher salt

DO AHEAD:
Prepare the chickens and marinate overnight (see Step 1).

1.
Butterfly the chicken (see page 234), removing the backbone and wing tips, but leaving the breastbone. Sprinkle the chickens with the red pepper flakes, ginger, chopped garlic, and fennel seeds. Rub with the oil, cover, and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

2.
Season the chicken with salt. Heat four large frying pans each with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat. Place the chickens skin side up in the pans, flatten each one with a weight, and cook halfway through, about 20 minutes. Flip the chickens, replace the weights,
and cook until done, about another 20 minutes. The skin should be crispy and golden brown. Transfer the chickens to a cutting board (set one of the pans aside) and remove the breastbones. Transfer the chickens to a plate, skin side up.

3.
Sauté the ginger, garlic, and sliced shallots in the reserved pan over medium heat, adding an additional tablespoon of oil if necessary, until tender, about 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the sherry and cook at a simmer until it has reduced by three-quarters, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the stock and cook until it has reduced by two-thirds, about 30 minutes. Whisk in the butter and season with the vinegar and salt.

4.
Make a pool of sauce on one side of each of four warm plates. Set the chicken atop the sauce so it rests half on, half off the sauce (you’ve worked hard for the crispy skin,
so don’t drown it in sauce). Serve immediately.

P
oppy seeds may seem like
an unusual ingredient in roast chicken, but their nuttiness and affinity for lemon are what started this recipe. It began life as an oven-roasted chicken, but I just couldn’t figure out a way to get the smoky flavor as intense as I wanted it without setting off my fire alarm. Time for the outdoor grill. The result is an exquisitely flavored bird the color of pale mahogany, crusted with poppy seeds and a mixture of lemon, rosemary, fennel, and parsley bound together with honey. Slices of pancetta inserted beneath the skin prevent the breast from drying out before the legs are done. The lemon quarters inside the cavity become saturated with the chicken’s juices as the bird roasts; squeeze them over the chicken just before serving.

The times given for roasting the chicken are somewhat imprecise. My 324-pound bird took 2 hours in a covered gas grill, using medium indirect heat. (A medium heat is one where you can hold your hand near the cooking surface for a count of 4 before having to remove it.) Adjust your time according to the size of your bird and your ability to manage the heat in your grill. Judge the chicken’s doneness by using an instant-read digital thermometer and the color of the thigh juices, not by time. Do not omit the wood chips—the smoke is an essential component of the bird’s flavor.

2 cups of wood chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes

One 3½-to 4-pound chicken

4 thin slices pancetta

Grated zest of 3 lemons (reserve the lemons)

¼ cup poppy seeds

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed

2 tablespoons honey

½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.
Using a sturdy knife or cleaver, chop the wing tips off the chicken. Using your fingers, separate the skin from the breasts, forming a pocket over each breast. Slip 2 slices of pancetta into each pocket, then press the skin back down to hold the pancetta in place.

2.
Drain the wood chips and put them into a small foil pan. Prepare a medium fire in a grill; allow the grill to heat with the top closed and the pan of chips directly over the flames or coals until the entire grate is hot and the chips are smoking well, at least 15 minutes. Then adjust the heat source so there is a space in the center of the grate that is not directly above the coals or flames, large enough to hold the chicken with plenty of room to spare. Turn off the middle
burner if using a gas grill, or push the coals to the sides of a charcoal grill. The chicken should cook by indirect heat—it should not grill. Only the pan of wood chips should be over direct heat.

3.
Meanwhile, mix the lemon zest with the poppy seeds, garlic, fennel seeds, honey, parsley, rosemary, and oil to form a paste. Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Smear the paste evenly over the exterior of the chicken. Cut 2 of the zested lemons into quarters (save the remaining lemon for another use). Place as many of the lemon quarters inside the cavity as will fit comfortably (don’t squish them). Tie the legs together with butcher’s twine and truss the chicken so the cavity is closed.

4.
Place the chicken breast side up on the grill. Close the grill and roast for 1½ to 2 hours. An instant-read digital thermometer should read 165°F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh. This will give you a moist juicy chicken. If you prefer chicken a little more well done, wait until the thermometer reads 170°F. When the thigh is pricked near where it joins the body, the juices should run clear. Remove and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving.

5.
Remove the lemon quarters from the cavity (I know—they’re a mess) and set aside. Carve the chicken and arrange on a platter. Squeeze the lemon quarters over the chicken, or offer them on the side. Serve immediately.

O
nce in a while I
taste a classic treatment for meat or fish and immediately imagine applying the same approach to a completely different animal. A French recipe for rabbit in a luscious mustard cream was the springboard for this dish. Instead of the crème fraîche called for in the version with rabbit, I’ve used mascarpone. American crème fraîche is more acidic than the French product, and I wanted a softer, sweeter flavor for the chicken. This dish definitely falls into the category of braises that improve with a day of sitting, so make it a day ahead if you can.

MARINADE

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 shallots, thinly sliced