With many restaurant doors remaining closed and lockdowns still in place, we’re all turning to our own kitchens. It’s the perfect time to try new recipes and experiment with different techniques and ingredients you may not have used before. The Larkin Author Series checked in with cookbook author, food writer and cooking teacher, Molly Stevens, on some of the best recipes to be making right now. To limit trips out to the grocery store, Molly suggests meals utilizing pantry staples like one-skillet pasta, risotto or butterflied chicken (see recipe below!) The recipes are from her latest cookbook, All About Dinner. This is the third cookbook from Stevens, adding to All about Roasting and All about Braising. Chef Mel of the Filling Station in Larkin Square tested out Molly’s roast chicken and shared the step-by-step instructions and photos below!
As a Western New York native, Molly expressed her love for Buffalo’s vibrant food scene and wishes the best to the independent local restaurants having to close during these uncertain times. Watch the full interview with Molly:
All About Cooking: Butterflied Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Fennel, Rosemary, and Orange
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 ½ tsp black peppercorns
- ½ tsp paprika, smoked, sweet or regular, spicy or non
- Salt
- One 4-pound chicken, butterflied (If you are not comfortable doing this, you can ask your local butcher to do it for you)
- 2 large fennel bulbs
- 1 ¾ lbs red or white potatoes
- 1 small navel or blood orange, scrubbed
- 2 tbsp evoo
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Two 3 to 4 inch fresh rosemary sprigs
- ½ cup dry white wine or vermouth
Instructions:
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
- Ground the spices to season the chicken. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, put the coriander seeds and back peppercorns in a spice grinder and pulse until coarsely ground. Add paprika and salt to the ground spices sprinkle the mixture on both sides of the chicken.
- Lay the chicken on a sheet tray and put it in the fridge until it is ready to cook.
- Wash the fennel and potatoes. (Tip: peel off the outer layer of the fennel, and put it aside to use for a stock later) Cut the fennel in half, and make wedges out of each of the halves. Do the same process to the potatoes, cutting them in half and then into wedges. Cut the orange in half, and cut one of the halves into wedges, leaving the other half to squeeze over the fennel in a bowl. Tossed with the fresh ground pepper and salt and a bit of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).
- In a clean bowl, toss the potatoes with fresh ground pepper, salt and EVOO, being sure to leave to fennel and potatoes separate.
- When you are ready to roast the chicken, have another sheet tray ready. Lay out the potatoes around the outer edges of the sheet tray. Lay the fennel in the middle of the tray, and lay the orange wedges and rosemary on top of the fennel. Place the chicken over the fennel in the middle of the tray, tucking the wings under the chicken.
- Pour the wine or vermouth around the tray, avoiding pouring it over the chicken. place tray in the pre-heated oven.
- Roast for about 50 minutes – 1 hour
The Larkin Square Author Series is presented by KeyBank and sponsored by Independent Health. All About Dinner can be purchased on Molly’s website or through Talking Leaves Books, which is still fulfilling orders via phone, email, & web:
– phone: 716-884-9524
– email: TalkingLeavesElmwood@gmail.com
– website: https://www.tleavesbooks.com/