Pink of Perfection

“Does this look ’50s?”

We were trying to take a picture of the perfectly browned roast chicken and peppers sauteed with ham in a way that didn’t look like a culinary flashback. I think the parsley garnish is working against our efforts here; maybe you should leave it out.

Retro looks aside, this was delicious. As I mentioned last week, I was definitely averse to all the flipping involved in roasting this chicken. And what kind of thrifty girl uses half a stick of butter rubbing the chicken? But then I channeled Julia Child giving her chicken a “butter massage,” and I felt as if I were part of an important culinary lineage. And more importantly, this was the best looking chicken I ever roasted with a crisp, lovely brown skin. And who cares that all the flipping made me so dizzy I finished the roasting backside up? Next time I’ll get it right.

Chicken Basquaise
adapted from Grand Diplôme Cooking Course
Serves 4

3 1/2-4 pound chicken
1/4 cup butter, softenend
3-4 sprigs fresh tarragon, or 2 teaspoons dried
2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon cornstarch (dissolved in one tablespoon water), or 2 teaspoons flour

for the garnish:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red pepper, cored and cut into slices
1 yellow pepper, cored and cut into slices
12 baby onions, peeled
4 ounces lean ham, preferably serrano, diced
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons chopped parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove neck and organs from inside the chicken (if they’re in there), and rinse chicken inside and out, then pat dry with paper towels. Season the bird inside with salt and pepper (Cordon Blue: “Season the bird inside to penetrate the flesh. Seasoning outside would not do this; the salt would draw out the juices and prevent browning.” Who knew?). Truss the bird. Or not; no great loss.

Rub the outside of the chicken with half the butter and put the remaining butter inside with the tarragon. Place chicken, breast side up, in a roasting pan with half the chicken stock. Cover with foil and roast for a total of 1 1/4 hours.

After the first 20 minutes, remove chicken from oven, baste chicken with juices from the pan and turn on one side. Cook for another 20 minutes, then baste again. Turn chicken on its other side and cook for another 20 minutes. Remove chicken from oven, baste one last time, remove foil, and finish cooking the bird breast side up.

To test if the chicken is done, pierce the flesh of the thigh with a finely pointed knife. The liquid that runs out should be clear. If it’s pink, continue cooking.

When finished cooking, remove chicken from oven and cover with foil to keep warm.

Now, make the gravy: If the juices in the roasting pan have not cooked down to a glaze, simmer on top of the stove over low heat until they become brown and sticky. Next, add the remaining cup of stock.

Deglaze the pan by scraping up the brown bits stuck to the pan. Strain the mixture into a small saucepan. To thicken slightly, stir in the cornstarch or flour a little bit at a time, whisking continuously, while bringing mixture to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste and keep hot.

Next, the peppers: Heat olive oil in a saute pan over over moderate heat. Add onions and cook until lightly brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in the ham and the peppers, cover; reduce heat and cook until peppers are soft, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in parsley, if using.

To serve, arrange chicken and peppers on a platter and pass gravy at the table.