In the past the combination of savory and sweet was quite common in Italian cooking; some say it is at least in part attributable to the Crusaders, who returned home with a taste for the dishes they'd enjoyed in the Middle East. In any case, though the use of fruit is not as common as it once was one still does encounter it occasionally, and this roast chicken is quite nice. To serve 6:
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Ingredients:
- A cleaned chicken, weighing about 3 pounds (1.5 k)
- 1 1/4 cups dry white wine
- A tart apple
- A small onion
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- A celery heart
- A small carrot
- 1 clove garlic
- 4-5 leaves sage
- The leaves of a small sprig of rosemary
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
Preparation:
Flame the chicken to remove stray pinfeathers, wash it well, and pat it dry inside and out. Peel and core the apple, and dice it. Finely slice the onion and sauté the slices in the butter, over a low flame, until they are translucent and soft. Do not let them brown. Raise the heat; add the apples and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, seasoning everything lightly with salt and pepper. Fill the cavity of the chicken with this mixture and sew it shut with needle and string.
In the meantime, preheat your oven to 400 F (200 C), and slice the vegetables and herbs. Set the chicken in a roasting pan and lay the vegetables around it. Brush the chicken and the vegetables with oil and roast the bird, basting it often with the pan drippings and sprinkling it with the white wine, until you have used that up. The chicken will be done when the meat begins to pull away from the leg bones and the juices run clear if you insert a skewer into the wing joint; this will take about an hour. When the chicken is done transfer it to a heated serving platter, remove the string, and set the platter in the open oven to keep the bird warm while you heat the pan juices over the stove to thicken them, and then put the vegetables through a strainer and back into the sauce. Stir well to combine everything and transfer the sauce to a gravy boat.
At table, serve the stuffing over the chicken pieces once you have carved the bird, with the sauce on the side.
The wine? I'd continue with the white that I basted the bird with. A good Vernaccia might be nice. Or, wanting a red, a fruit-laced, relatively light wine, for example a Teroldego.
In the meantime, preheat your oven to 400 F (200 C), and slice the vegetables and herbs. Set the chicken in a roasting pan and lay the vegetables around it. Brush the chicken and the vegetables with oil and roast the bird, basting it often with the pan drippings and sprinkling it with the white wine, until you have used that up. The chicken will be done when the meat begins to pull away from the leg bones and the juices run clear if you insert a skewer into the wing joint; this will take about an hour. When the chicken is done transfer it to a heated serving platter, remove the string, and set the platter in the open oven to keep the bird warm while you heat the pan juices over the stove to thicken them, and then put the vegetables through a strainer and back into the sauce. Stir well to combine everything and transfer the sauce to a gravy boat.
At table, serve the stuffing over the chicken pieces once you have carved the bird, with the sauce on the side.
The wine? I'd continue with the white that I basted the bird with. A good Vernaccia might be nice. Or, wanting a red, a fruit-laced, relatively light wine, for example a Teroldego.
