Roasted Chicken + Autumn Bread Salad

Here's a recipe I'm quite proud of: Roasted Chicken + Autumn Bread Salad. A quickly-roasted chicken delivers its juices to butternut squash, whole sweet shallots, and tart apples roasting beside it on a sheet pan. Peppery arugula in a light dressing mix with vinegar-soaked golden raisins and crispy-chewy toasted bread chunks make a lovely autumn panzanella-style salad that make a bed for the chicken and deeply flavored vegetables. It's all you need on one platter. I can't think of a better Saturday night or Sunday afternoon cool-weather dinner.

This roasted chicken and autumn bread salad borrows inspiration from the late Judy Rodgers, generous traditionalist and exemplary restaurateur. And golly, is it good.

The Inspiration for Roasted Chicken + Autumn Bread Salad

First let me tell you about the chicken Ms. Rodgers made famous at the Zuni Cafe in San Francisco. At Zuni, whole, small chickens are roasted in a wood-fired brick oven. The juicy, crackly-skinned chicken is served with a warm bread salad. At Zuni, chunks of hand-torn toasted bread, scallions, garlic, bitter greens, dried currants, and pine nuts are tossed in a light vinaigrette. When you experience this dish, it becomes the gold standard for all roasted chicken. And the craveable bread salad is just as good.

Until now, my go-to method of roasting chicken has been the Zuni Cafe way. Ms. Rodger's way. I pat the chicken dry and give it a dry rub of salt and pepper. Then, I loosely wrap it and put in the fridge for two days before roasting. The chicken skin dries in the refrigerated air, setting it up for crispness. Then on roasting day I set into a hot skillet and rush into a very hot oven. A series of flips mid-roast, and viola! The most crispy-skinned and juicy chicken ever. Put this roasted chicken together with a seasonal bread salad-- oh my!

Sometimes I haven't planned this out well, or don't have the time or energy for these steps but still would love a roasted chicken. Hmmm. What could I do about that?

Ditching the two-day dry brine period and shortening the overall cooking time with our unique preparation method is a great advantage for the home cook. And it still turns out a chicken that is almost as wonderful as the Zuni style.

How Can I Roast a Chicken Without Drying Out the White Meat?

It's easy to end up with dry white meat when roasting a chicken, and yet so easy to prevent it! By separating the breast and wing section from the leg and thigh section, we give the legs and thighs a 15-minute head start in the oven, sparing the white meat from overcooking. I call this a major kitchen coup!

The best tool for working with a whole chicken is kitchen shears. Get yourself a good pair. Poor quality shears need to be replaced frequently, so make this investment up front when you can. This is the pair I recommend for its value. You can spend more, but these are very good and will last.

With this method we use our kitchen shears to easily separate the breast and wing section from the rest of the bird. We start by separating the breast from the legs in two quick "vee" cuts. Then we flip the breast section upwards like a page in a legal pad. From there, it's very simple to separate the front from the back of the bird at the shoulders.

Match Your Roasted Chicken and Bread Salad to the Season

Roasted winter squash, celery, apple, golden raisins, tons of shallot, and arugula make this a fall-into-winter salad. In the spring and summer, swap those things out for fresh peas or sauteed zucchini, blistered cherry tomatoes, lots of fresh herbs, scallions, and torn mustard greens for a lighter taste. Use what is in season, and the rest remains the same. No matter what time of year, be sure to use garlic confit if you can. It's is always in season!

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Roasted Chicken + Autumn Bread Salad

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Italian, Pacific Northwest

Season: Bounty (August - October), Mist (November - March)

Dietary: Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free

Preparation: Roasting, Sheet Pan

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 minute minute

Author: Pam Spettel

Chicken roasted in a way to ensure moist white meat, along with a luscious seasonal bread salad makes an autumnal one-platter meal.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 3½-4½ lb. whole fresh chicken
• fresh thyme, sage, and rosemary
• 1 lb. winter squash, peeled and cut into 1" cubes like butternut, honeynut, red kuri, kabocha, or pumpkin
• 1 lb. shallots, peeled, large ones cut in half
• 4 stalks celery, scrubbed and sliced into ¾" pieces remove and reserve and leafy parts
• 12 ounces firm baking apple, cut into 1" cubes
• ½ cup garlic confit, or ½ cup olive oil and 12 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 tablespoons golden raisins
• ½ cup celery, white wine, or sherry vinegar I use Spoiled Rotten Vinegar brand celery vinegar

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425°. Place one oven rack in the upper third of the oven, and one in the lower third. Wipe the chicken dry. Using kitchen shears, and the chicken breast-side up and legs pointed to you, cut along the bottom edges of the breast upwards toward the wing on each side, following the natural "vee" shape. Fold the breast upward (like flipping a page of a legal pad). Press down to flatten the chicken. Use the shears to separate the breast/wing section from the backbone and neck.
• Sprinkle both bird sections liberally with salt and pepper. Place the leg/thigh section on the baking sheet and put several sprigs of thyme, a sprig of sage, and a sprig of rosemary under it. Place the baking sheet on the lower oven rack for 15 minutes.
• Prep the vegetables and apple while the legs/thighs are roasting. Place them in a bowl, salt and pepper to taste, and add the garlic confit (or olive oil and garlic cloves) and toss well to coat the vegetables in oil and set it aside.
• After the first 15 minute roast, place the chicken breast/wing section on the baking sheet with herbs underneath and roast for another 15 minutes. While this is happening, place the golden raisins in a small dish and cover them with the vinegar. Set aside.
• After the second 15 minute roast, place the prepared vegetable mixture all around the chicken on the baking sheet, distributing them evenly. Place the baking sheet back in the oven for another 15 minutes.
• During this 15 minute roast, tear the bread into uneven bite-sized chunks onto a small baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Toss the bread pieces well. Place the bread pieces in the oven on the upper rack for 6-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss, then if necessary, return to the oven for another few minutes. You are looking for a mix of crunch and tender bits, some browning and crispy bits, and some that will be softer. This step is very dependent on your own oven, so please watch carefully to avoid burning!
• When the chicken reaches 160° at the thickest part of the thigh and breast, it is done. Remove from the oven to rest before cutting it into serving pieces.
• In a large bowl (I use the same bowl that the vegetables were in) place the toasted bread chunks, arugula, another swirl of olive oil, and the golden raisins and their vinegar. Toss well and spread the bread salad on a platter. Spoon the roasted vegetables and all the pan juices onto the bread salad.
• Use the kitchen shears to separate the chicken into 2 legs, two thighs, two wings, and two breasts. Use a heavy knife to cut the breast pieces in half, resulting in 4 chicken breast pieces. Arrange the ckien over the vegetables and serve.