Tzimmes Chicken

 Not everyone in my family likes brisket, so on Rosh Hashanah I make a second main course. This year I had planned on Baked Chicken with Fig-Orange Balsamic Sauce, the most popular dish on my website. But I’ve not been able to get fresh figs.

Wow, that was a short fig season!

So, I’m going to make this Tzimmes Chicken, which is basically braised/roasted chicken plus some of the ingredients I use to make one of my modern meatless tzimmes recipes.

Although the Yiddish word tzimmes means “a big fuss,”this recipe certainly isn’t! It’s not complicated, it’s easy to cook and you can make it ahead and reheat.

Fyi, a few years ago this recipe appeared in The Jewish Week Food & Wine, but the recipes on their website are no longer be available.

Shanah Tovah.

ROASTED TZIMMES CHICKEN

• 3 1/2 to 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces

• 3 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1 medium onion, sliced

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 16-18 dried apricots

• 12 large Medjool dates, pitted

• 1 teaspoon grated fresh orange peel

• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

• 3 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

• 2 tablespoons honey

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place a large oven-proof sauté pan in the oven (cast iron if you have it) for 15 minutes. Dry the chicken using paper towels. Rub one tablespoon of the olive oil over the pieces and season to taste with salt and pepper. Place the chicken pieces, skin down for breasts and thighs in the hot pan and place the pan in the oven. Roast for 10 minutes. While the chicken is roasting, combine the onion, garlic, apricots, dates, orange peel, rosemary, Balsamic vinegar, honey and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a bowl. Toss the ingredients to distribute them evenly. After the initial 10 minutes of roasting, turn the chicken pieces. The skin should be browned, if not, return to the oven for another 3-4 minutes. Scatter the fruit mixture on top of and between the chicken pieces. Return the pan to the oven. Turn the heat to 350 degrees. Roast for another 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (a meat thermometer will read 160 degrees). Baste 2-3 times during roasting. Let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 4-6 servings

Roasted Chicken with Ginger Preserves and Rosemary

My daughters used to say that we were all going to turn into chickens. Because we always ate so much of it.

We still do.

Fact is, chicken is easy to cook. It doesn't take long. It is the kind of food that you can use just about any seasoning or sauce on and it will taste good. You can fry it, bake it, broil it, grill it, braise it -- on and on -- and it's also good. Even the leftovers are useful and good.

With all those benefits, who wouldn't eat a lot of chicken?

Anyway, even though I have my favorite chicken recipes, I am always trying to prepare it in different ways, just so dinner won't be boring. This recipe, using ginger preserves, was a quick, easy, fabulous dinner.

Roasted Chicken Breasts with Ginger preserves and rosemary

4 large bone-in chicken breasts (or whole legs)

1/2 cup ginger preserves

2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Rinse and dry the chicken pieces and place them in a baking pan. Combine the ginger preserves, Balsamic vinegar, mustard and rosemary and spoon over the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F. Continue to bake for about 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Makes 4 servings.

Plain Old Roasted Chicken

Some people think chicken is boring and unexciting, but I disagree, especially when it comes to a whole roasted chicken.

To me, a large roasted chicken coming out of the oven, crispy-skinned and glistening, fragrant with the aromas of a happy family dinner, is so impressive, so festive, that I always serve it during the Jewish High Holidays. 

And can I tell you the other benefits?

Chicken is extraordinarily versatile. You can season it so many ways that you will never run out of ideas. Spice it with Baharat or sprinkle it with fresh chopped rosemary. Or just salt and pepper. Drizzle it with Balsamic vinegar and a bit of orange peel. Baste it with orange juice or wine or chicken stock. Give it some heat with jalapeno peppers or harissa or make it sweet and mild by cooking it with apples and honey.

I could go on, except I need to tell you that making roasted chicken is EASY.

Here’s the proof:      

Roasted Chicken

• 1 roasting chicken, 5-6 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 chicken stock, white wine or juice

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 stock (wine or juice) 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 with Apples, Shallots and Mushrooms

Do you think Adam and Eve would have been tempted by an old, supermarket Red Delicious apple left over from last year?

I doubt it.

But a fresh, crisp, juicy apple is one of life’s sweetest gifts. And far from ordinary.

At least they’re not ordinary at this time of year, when the new harvest is in full swing. You can get new crop apples at a farm stands now, and some supermarkets have them too. And even though we can buy apples any time, they are like all other seasonal foods: best eaten in season. 

I bought a bushel of apples plus several bags of different apple varieties recently. Most went into pies, some cakes, baked apples, apple crisp and some snacks and stuff. But I still have some left over. 

These are for cooking with savory dishes like this Roasted Chicken with Apples, Shallots and Mushrooms.

Roasted Chicken with Apples, Shallots and Mushrooms

1 roasting chicken, about 5-6 pounds

2 tablespoons olive oil, softened margarine (or butter)

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

8 medium shallots, peeled

8 cloves garlic, peeled

1 cup apple cider

10 ounces fresh mushrooms, cleaned

3 tart apples, peeled and cut into large chunks

1/3 cup chicken stock or white wine

1/4 cup coconut milk (or cream)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and dry the chicken. Rub the skin with the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired. Place the chicken, breast-side down, on a rack in a roasting pan.

Add the shallots and garlic to the pan. Immediately reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees and roast for 45-50 minutes, basting occasionally with the apple cider. Turn the chicken breast-side up. Add the mushrooms and apple chunks to the pan. Continue to roast until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees (45 minutes plus, depending on the size of the chicken). Baste occasionally with the pan fluids until 15 minutes before you expect the chicken to be done. Remove the chicken to a carving board, and let rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Reduce the oven heat to 140 degrees. Remove the vegetables and apples with a slotted spoon, and keep them warm in the oven. Add the chicken stock to the roasting pan, stir, and bring the liquid to a boil. Cook over high heat for about 2 minutes or until sauce has reduced to the consistency of heavy cream. Add the coconut milk, stir, and keep warm over low heat. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

Carve the chicken, and place the pieces on a serving dish surrounded by vegetables and apples. Pour the sauce over the sliced meat and vegetables (or serve separately), and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

Roasted Chicken with Orange, Lemon and Ginger

Roasted Chicken with Orange, Lemon and Ginger

Today I gave a private cooking lesson and one of the foods I taught was roasted chicken. A long time ago I read that if you know how to roast a chicken you can cook a delicious dinner anytime.

This was delicious. It had a refreshing ginger-citrus-honey coating and it came out glossy and dark-skinned and crispy. The pan juices were sweet and tangy all at the same time. There was enough liquid for the meat and also for the rice I made as an accompaniment (roasted asparagus with Balsamic vinegar too).

Here’s the recipe:

Roasted Chicken with Orange, Lemon and Ginger

1 roasting chicken, about 4-6 pounds

1 orange

1 lemon

1 large scallion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

2 tablespoons softened margarine, or use coconut oil

2 tablespoons honey

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse and dry the chicken; remove pinfeathers; remove the giblets. Grate the orange and lemon rinds into a bowl. Halve the fruit and squeeze the orange to extract the juice; add more if necessary to make the 1/2 cup. Squeeze the lemon to make the 2 tablespoons of juice. Mix the orange and lemon juices together and set aside. Place the fruit inside the cavity of the chicken. To the bowl of citrus peels, add the scallion, parsley, ginger, margarine and honey. Mix the ingredients until well blended. Rub onto all sides of the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the chicken breast side down on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Roast another 15 minutes. Pour the reserved juices 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 pan juices. Makes 6 servings