Shabbat Roasted Chicken

In these current times of anger and division, when the news always seems to be bad and the world seems ready to explode, how fortunate we are to have Shabbat, a day of rest, contemplation and togetherness with our loved ones. 

Put the world aside. 

The sorrow, the political madness will not go away, but we can enjoy our day of peace. We can enjoy a festive Shabbat dinner. 

What could be better for the feast than roasted chicken, the traditional Shabbat dinner? Our ancestors ate roasted chicken in the shtetls of Eastern Europe and in the luxurious dining rooms in Vienna and Bucharest.

Roasted chicken is beyond delicious. It’s iconic. It’s comforting. 

Shabbat shalom.

ROASTED CHICKEN

• 1 whole chicken, about 5 pounds

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• garlic powder and paprika, optional

• ras el hanout, baharat, garam masala, harissa, chopped fresh herbs to taste, optional

• 1 to 1-1/2 cups fruit juice, chicken stock or white wine

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove any pinfeathers and extra flesh and fat from the chicken. Take out the package of giblets inside the cavity (you may save these pieces for stock, except for the liver, or roast them along with the chicken). Brush the olive oil all over the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and optional seasonings. Place the chicken breast side down on a rack placed inside a roasting pan. Roast for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees. Roast the chicken for 15 minutes. Pour the juice (stock or wine) over the chicken and roast for another 15 minutes. Turn the chicken breast side up. Roast the chicken, basting occasionally, for 45-60 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken, or until the chicken is cooked through (a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast registers 160 degrees or 165 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh). Remove the chicken to a carving board and let rest for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with pan juices (you may strain the pan fluids if desired, and/or reduce them to desired thickness by boiling the fluids in a small saucepan over high heat).

Makes 6 servings

Roasted Chicken Breast with Buddha’s Hand Citron, Kumquats and Dates

Some people can’t resist a gorgeous handbag or a swell looking tie. But for me, it’s about food. So, when I saw this strange looking fruit that’s in the top photo yesterday there was no question about it, I had to buy it.

It’s called Buddha’s Finger Citron. A citrus member of course, with skin like lemon, and with a bitter taste. It’s not the kind of fruit you eat out of hand like an orange or pear. In fact, it’s mostly used as a table decoration or cooked as candy (with lots of sugar) or marmalade (with lots of sugar).

I’d used citron before, but only the candied kind (for fruitcake and such). I wasn’t sure what to do with this thing.

Thanks thanks for the internet.

After doing a little research and then getting into experimental mode, I decided to pair it with kumquats, which are also bitter, but also dates, which are devastatingly sweet, so there would be some ying-yang of flavor to the chicken breast I was going to roast for dinner.

The results were delicious. 

The Buddha’s Finger Citron gave a haunting, deep lemony taste to the pan juices. The citron remained bitter, the kind of taste you either love or hate, appealing to those who like candied fruit-studded fruitcake/Panettone/Panforte and so on, or, on the other hand, distressing to those who purposely pick the chopped up candied fruit out of those desserts.

Fortunately (or not) you can make the recipe without the citron — add a strip or two of lemon peel and remove it before serving. 

If you bought one of these too, you can make candy or marmalade. Or use the skin as you would lemon peel (for vinaigrette, marinades, scattered on top of fish, etc.) Or to flavor vodka or a cocktail or holiday punch. 

Roasted Chicken Breast with Buddha’s Hand Citron, Kumquats and Dates

• 1/4 cup diced Buddha’s hand citron
• 8-10 kumquats, cut up and seeded
• 8-12 large Medjool dates, pits removed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons honey

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place the citron, kumquats, dates and onion in a roasting pan. Place the chicken breasts on top. Rub the surface of the chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, ginger, cinnamon and cumin. Roast for 5 minutes. Turn the heat to 350 degrees. Roast for another 15 minutes. Mix the orange juice and honey and pour over the chicken. Continue to roast, basting occasionally, for another 30 minutes or until the skin is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through (160 degrees on a meat thermometer).

Makes 6 servings

Roasted Chicken and Carrots

When I was in high school our class read “A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig.” It’s a tongue-in-cheek essay (by Charles Lamb) about a young boy in ancient China who burned his house down, along with some baby piglets. When the fire was over he touched the charred animals and some of the crispy cracklings came off on his fingers, which he licked, and the fame of barbecued pork was assured.

I think we had to read this because it had dozens of fancy words that were sure to show up on our SATs. 

I recently read the essay again. I no longer have the SATs to worry about of course so I could actually concentrate on what Lamb said. And that got me to thinking that if I were writing it I would have chosen a different food.

Roast Chicken instead of roast pig.

There is no finer dinner than roast chicken. It’s festive without being fussy, visually beautiful, easy to prepare and not too expensive. It’s comfort food and also company food. The aroma of a roasting chicken in the oven is welcoming, especially on a cold night after we change to Standard Time and it gets dark early.

Ask a chef, even the most famous of them, to choose a favorite dinner and you might be surprised to learn how many would choose roast chicken.

All of what Lamb says about pig applies to chicken. I’ll give you one example. He describes the pig’s “exterior tegument … crisp, tawny, well-watched … the very teeth are invited to their share of the pleasure at this banquet in overcoming the coy, brittle resistance ….”

In other words, the golden brown skin has a terrific texture and tastes really delicious!

Anyway, you’re likely to find a lovely chicken ready for roasting any old time you’re at the supermarket. And any old time you’re at a loss as to what to cook for dinner for your family or even for company, you should definitely think about roasting a chicken. 

Is there a better dinner? I don’t think so.

Here’s an easy recipe. 

Plain Old Roasted Chicken 

1 roasting chicken, about 4-6 pounds

4-6 carrots

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

salt, garlic powder, paprika and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup orange juice, chicken stock or white wine

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel the carrots and cut them into thick strips. Place them in a roasting pan and pour in some of the olive oil. Toss the carrots to coat them with the olive oil. Rinse and dry the chicken; remove pinfeathers; remove the giblets. Rub the chicken with some of the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, paprika and pepper. Place a rack over the carrots in the roasting pan and place the chicken breast side down on the rack. Roast for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Roast another 15 minutes. Pour the juice (or stock, wine) over the chicken and roast another 15 minutes. Turn chicken breast side up. Continue to roast, basting occasionally, for another 45-60 minutes or until fully cooked (a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 160 degrees). Remove the chicken to a carving board and let rest for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with the carrots and pan juices. Makes 6 servings