Cooler Weather Calls for Roast Chicken

These past few days have been almost autumnal. August: shorts one day and a sweater the next. On a particularly cold, damp day recently, I rediscovered a favourite roast chicken recipe which the kids really enjoy. I quite like the simple approach to roasting chicken: brush with dijon, sprinkle with dried tarragon, salt and pepper, and roast. But this recipe takes precious little more time and is very, very moist and tasty. Keep warm!

Roast Chicken with Maple-Soy Glaze

1/4 c maple syrup
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp tabasco
3/4 c dry sherry or sake

1 chicken, approximately 4.5 to 5 pounds, fat and giblets removed
1 orange, quartered
fresh ginger, approximately 1 inch, peeled, halved and smashed
2 garlic cloves, smashed

Preheat oven to 375F. Whisk together maple syrup, soy sauce, rice vinegar and tabasco to make glaze. Simmer sherry in a small saucepan for about 3 minutes, until reduced to 1/2 cup.

Place chicken in roasting pan. Squeeze juice from oranges over chicken. Stuff chicken with oranges, ginger and garlic. Pour sherry over chicken.

Cover and roast for 20 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water to pan and brush chicken with glaze. Roast until done, approximately 45 minutes, basting regularly with glaze. (Uncover to crisp up the skin.) Remove from oven and transfer chicken to a platter, allowing to rest for approximately 10 minutes.

In the meantime, skim fat from pan juices, add remaining glaze to roasting pan and boil. Serve alongside chicken.



Bon Appetit, February 2006 (minus the butter)

Red Peppers - Two Ways

For the past few weeks, we've been getting baskets full of beautiful red peppers at the Kingston market. Here are my two all time favourite recipes for red peppers.

Roasted Red Peppers with Goats' Cheese*

1 red pepper
1 large tomato, quartered
1 garlic clove, sliced
pinch of dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 tsp olive oil
1 oz goats' cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cut pepper in half with stalk on and remove membrane and seeds. Put pepper halves, cut side up, into a small roasting pan. Put 2 quarters of tomato into each half, scatter with garlic and herbs and season with salt and pepper. Spoon 1/2 tsp olive oil into each pepper. Bake for 30 minutes.

Place one half crumbled goats' cheese into each pepper, baste with cooking juices and return to oven for 15-20 minutes until beginning to brown on top.

*this recipe is made to serve 1-2 people so you'll want to increase quantities if you're serving more

Grilled Peppers with Fresh Basil, Feta and Orzo

1 garlic clove
1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp warm water
1 cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped
6 peppers (red, yellow and orange), quartered
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1 cup orzo, cooked

Place garlic in blender with 1 tbsp lemon juice, salt, pepper, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp water. Blend until mixed. Add basil and puree to a saucy consistency. Can be refrigerated at this point for up to 2 days, but bring to room temperature before using.

Toss peppers with 1 tbsp oil and grill until lightly charred. (We use a grill basket.)

Drizzle basil sauce over peppers and toss with orzo until well coated. Place on a platter and scatter with feta.