Monday

Weekend Roast

Marrying into a Sicilian family has had many wonderful benefits and some of my favorite memories are connected to our family meals together.
While we lived in Brooklyn, NY we would go and eat with our extended family at least 2 times a week, and ALWAYS on Sunday after church.
We made those wonderful family moments around the table a necessity for our family, and carried on with it even after leaving New York for England. And how wonderful to get to England and discover the Sunday tradition of the English Roast!!
Lovely food and tradition where ever we go!
Even though it isn't a typical Sunday lunch in Brooklyn, or in England, it is a meal we serve when needing to fill lots of tummies and the weekends are often packed with not just our 6.. and sometimes more...


Serves 10 to 12

Ingredients

3 Whole Chickens
3 Pounds of small white potaoes
8 oz of mixed salad
1 small box of heirloom tomatoes
4 oz of soft goat cheese
5 leeks
Asparagus- about 6 per person
About 1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tsp of Balsamic Vinegar
4 small lemons
1 generous handful of Fresh Thyme, or 1 package of Thyme from the store
Fresh ground Pepper
Sea Salt
2 Tsp of butter


Prepare

* Add the peeled small potatoes to a large pot of water that has a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt in it.
* Take potatoes off and drain when water comes to a boil for par-boiled potatoes

  (My favorite new way to make roast chicken, looks elegant and cuts cooking time in half!)

*Spit Cock or cut the back bone out of the chickens with a pair of kitchen scissors, press down on their backs to flatten, place in 3 large baking dishes with the inside of the chicken facing down
* Squeeze 1 lemon over each chicken, I use my hand as a sieve to catch the seeds
* Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over the chickens
* Separate the thyme into 3 bundles, break up 1 bundle over each chicken
* Add a generous amount of sea salt and fresh ground pepper
* Rub those chickens like they are getting a massage to help the flavors get into the skin
* Add the potatoes around the chickens
* Put into a pre-heated 380 degree oven of 1 1/2 hours or until the juices run clear
* After 45 minutes turn the potatoes and start the next steps

* Prepare the Asparagus by rinsing in cold water and snapping off the ends ( hold the spear at the bottom and gently bend it and amazingly it snaps off where it is to hard to eat! )
* Add the asparagus to a shallow pan with about 1 1/2 cups of water and steam for about 6 minutes
* Drain and add a squeeze of lemon, a couple pats of butter and toss, sprinkle with salt and pepper

* Prepare the leeks by cutting off the really green parts and slicing into 1/4 inch pieces, add to a bowl of cold water and rinse and separate the pieces
* Sautee in a pan with 2Tbs of butter until soft, about 5 minutes
* Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover and set aside

* Take the chickens out of the oven and put aside to cool down before carving, about 10 minutes

* Add the salad to a bowl, add your tomatoes and crumble your goat cheese, add a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar , add fresh ground pepper

Finally, have a fancy table or serve it buffet style, I like to be formal and dress the table, the kids love it and think it is quite special as do our guests!!!
Carve your chickens, place the potatoes around your chicken and put everything on the serving dishes
and onto your table...

Wine Suggestion- Chardonnay or Pinot Noir


ENJOY YOUR FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I loved that pineapple upside down cake.... great recipe perfectly made!

Serving sizes and this sight.....

As many of you have come to realize, I am usually making huge amounts of food and alot of times for more than just my family. However, I would be horrified to think that someone who was living alone, or with only a couple people in their home would feel discouraged about this..
Simply use division for most of these recipes if they are too big. With the exception of baking, which requires a fair amount of science, these recipes can be adjusted and modified with ease! And if you feel stuck, either leave me a comment or email me and I will try to respond to you as soon as I can.
Thanks fellow foodies, hope you eat something yummy today and enjoy the fact that you didn't spend lots of money at a high end restaurant!

Enjoy! I love to hear from you all!

Rebecca Turrigiano

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