If you are in the mood for an interesting twist on a roast chicken, look no further. This is a simple and hearty dish with wonderful aromatic spices. Here, pre-frying the chicken makes a big difference to the texture and flavor. Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi.
Ingredients
- 3-4 dried cascabel chillies
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 30 g dried porcini
- 1 whole chicken (1.5 kg)
- 2 lemons, 1 halved and the other cut into 4 wedges
- 60 ml olive oil
- 500 g celery (about 6-8 sticks), cut on a bias into 4 cm chunks
- 2 onions, each cut into 8 wedges
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
- 8 thyme sprigs
- 320 g orzo
- 1-2 T flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400 F.
- Put the chillies and cinnamon in a small frying pan on a medium-high heat, and cook for about eight minutes, or until fragrant and toasted. (Note: if your chillies are very dry, you will want to fry them for a much shorter time. They are done when they start to blister from the heat. There is a fine line between cooked and burned, so watch them closely.)
- Transfer chillies and cinnamon to a large bowl with the porcini mushrooms and 1.1 litres boiling water. Cover with a plate and leave to soak for at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry and sprinkle with 1/2 t salt and a good grind of black pepper.
- Stuff the chicken cavity with one lemon half.
- Put a large ovenproof dutch oven or cast-iron pot (note: these must have lids!) on medium-high heat. When warm, add 2 T oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook on all sides until browned, about 7 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
- Add the remaining 2 T oil to the pot, along with celery and onion, and cook for 6-10 minutes, until lightly golden.
- Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another minute, until fragrant.
- Return the chicken to the pan breast side up. Pour over the porcini liquid, along with all the aromatics, 2 t salt and a good grind of black pepper.
- Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven for 50 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and stir through the orzo, pushing some into the bird’s cavity.
- Cover again and bake for 20 minutes more, until the orzo is cooked and has absorbed most of the liquid.
- Turn up the oven to 450, uncover the pot, and bake for 10 minutes, or until browned on top.
- Remove from oven and leave to cool slightly for about 10-15 minutes.
- To serve, squeeze the other lemon half over the dish, sprinkle with the parsley, and serve directly from the pot, with the lemon wedges on the side.