Recipes

The Bird Is The Word

By Chris Goodwin

Hey LAB and our wonderful community! This is Chris Goodwin, LAB’s Producing Manager. I hope everyone is making it through these tough times. It’s been wonderful to be surrounded by such brilliant people and see all the fantastic projects everyone is creating for the survival guide.  

One of my favorite ways to destress is to cook, but when we’re in the city and work is in full swing, I’m typically throwing together as many dishes as possible that can be made in under an hour (not to mention recipes that don’t require more than two feet of counter space – oh, the joys of NYC living). Now that I’m home with my family in Seattle, I’m taking advantage of more counter space, more time, and one of the items that doesn’t seem to sell out at the grocery store – a whole chicken. 

I’ve been roasting whole chickens on and off since my Junior year of college, and used to invite friends over on Saturday nights to hang out and…eat chicken (this is what the cool kids do on weekends…). Not only is it incredibly easy and delicious to make one of these birds, but it’s also an inexpensive way to get several meals worth of protein- though it never lasts for long. 

I’m basing this off of a recipe by one of my favorite food bloggers, NoCrumbsLeft’s Heroine Chicken. Definitely check out her work if you are a foodie. This template for roasting a whole chicken is meant to be interchangeable based on whatever you have in your local store, fridge, and pantry. I think it’s important to not be too picky right now given how difficult it can be to get groceries, so creativity is encouraged as you put together your marinade. In another post, I’ll share a guide to roasting potatoes and making homemade aioli (who doesn’t love some aioli) to round out your meal.

So…grab a bird from the grocery store and let’s get to work.

What You’ll Need:

-One whole chicken

-Salt (Kosher or other coarse variety)

-Black Pepper

-Oil (Any kind will do – I’m using Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

-Citrus (I’m using lemons)

-Leafy herbs (I’m using flat-leaf parsley)

-Garlic

Making The Bird: 

Step 1: Preparing The Bird

The first thing we’re going to do is butterfly the chicken so it can lay flat and roast quickly in the oven. Usually, your grocery store butcher can do this for you, but right now, you might have to do this yourself. All we’re doing is flipping the chicken over and cutting out the backbone (it’s the center 1-2 inches of the bird). Here is a tutorial video explaining the process – it’s not cute, so I didn’t take any photos. Once you’ve removed the bone, flip it over and press down in the center to further flatten the bird.

Step 2: Salt City

Okay, we’ve got our bird butterflied! Next, we’re going to liberally salt the chicken on all surfaces – and I mean LIBERAL. Use a few tablespoons on the bird – it will feel like a ton of salt, but this is critical in the success of your chicken. 

Step 3: Marinade

Now we’re going to build our marinade. My marinade will consist of a lemon or two, 1/3 cup of oil, 6-8 cloves of garlic, a couple handfuls of parsley, and a couple teaspoons of black pepper. This, however, is where you can get creative and resourceful depending on what you have. This might mean lime and cilantro, I’m sure orange would be work well…as long as you have citrus, oil, garlic, spices, and some greenery (if you can find it), you’re good to go. Pour this over the bird, cover, and put in the fridge.

Step 4: Now We Wait

This chicken will be fantastic if it marinades for a few hours but is even better if you give it a day or two to rest. Just be sure to flip it over at some point so the marinade can infuse the other side.

Step 5: The Great Roast

Preheat your oven to 375-400 depending on your oven – we want the chicken to cook and brown, but not burn. I’m cooking at 375. Take your chicken out, get as much of the marinade off the bird as possible, and roast it in your oven on a lined cookie sheet for an hour. About 40-50 minutes in, baste the chicken and let it keep cooking. The bird is done when its internal temperature is at least 165 degrees.

Step 6: Eating

That’s how easy it is to roast a chicken! Let it cool once it’s out of the oven and then “carve” it (AKA – pull it apart and eat it rapidly). Be sure to serve with whatever you like – it’s great with rice, pasta, roasted vegetables (potato article coming soon!), some homemade sauces, on tacos…you name it. 

Wishing you all health, happiness, and some delicious food in these difficult times. 

Chris

Vegetarian Chili

By John Gould Rubin

Tonight, Thursday evening the 9th of April, I tuned into Fox News and listened to Tucker Carlson. This was my second foray into Fox News, the first being last night when I intended to write this, my second recipe-including musing, or whatever, when I was actually making the Green’s Cookbook recipe for Vegetarian Black Bean Chili, which is a spectacularly rich and uniquely flavorful recipe for anything vegetarian… 

-- for which I have a particular fondness as it uses chipotle chili which was my introduction to that chili and led me to use it in my guacamole which, I believe - in the legendary “Guac-Off” between Willy and me at an intensive long ago - was the tipping point that gave mine Guac “parity” with hers, or so my friends led me to believe - I may have been deceived!

…but last night, the first night I tuned into Fox News, I fell asleep. That surprised me. I thought I’d be enraged not asleep, but I don’t actually recall what argument or story I fell asleep to, that’s how gripping my virginal intro to Fox News was, surprisingly to me.

But maybe it was because my brother-in-law, in London, went into the hospital the day before, and maybe I was just depleted by the exhaustion of fear. My sister was still at home, but too exhausted by her own struggle with the virus’s attack on her own body, to speak, so I was scared without information, and whatever Fox had to say last night didn’t seem particularly gripping, since now I was faced with personal tragedy. And’ that kind of fear can only be helped by information, of which I didn’t have any, and I was also really terrified by my sister, alone now, still suffering from Corona herself, and her husband worse, and gone “to hospital.”

But, today he’s “stable,” which means either recuperating or not dead yet – I prefer the former over the later. 

My sister is, seemingly, better..,

…and Tucker says the liberal media want the pandemic to persist?????

Well, that pissed me off.

He’s an asshole. 

I feel better.

GREEN’S BLACK BEAN VEGETARIAN CHILI:

-Do not stint on the Chipotle, add lime at the end and lots of cilantro. Add spice. The hotter the better. -To Scorch Your Anger (-jgr) - Also, sour cream or cheese on top.

During winter my appetite turns to soups and stews, and one of my favorite meals is a flavorful black bean chili, from the great Deborah Madison in her The Greens Cookbook. It is hearty and deliciously spicy, but what gives it a special flavor is a small amount of canned chipotle chili, which are jalapeno chilies which have been smoked; the slight smoky taste is unusual and enticing. The recipe seems long, but it's quite easy, especially if you take a short cut and don't toast and grind whole spices. I do that, but the flavor probably won't suffer if you skip it and use ground cumin and chili powder. This is a very warming meal with a piece of cornbread and a dollop of sour cream.

2 cups black turtle beans, soaked overnight

1 bay leaf

4 teas cumin seeds

4 teas oregano leaves

4 teas paprika

1/2 teas cayenne

1 chili negro or ancho chili for chili powder, or 2 to 3 Tbs chili powder

3 Tbs vegetable oil

3 medium onions, diced into 1/4-inch squares

4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1/2 teas salt

1 1/2 lbs ripe or canned tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped; juice reserved.

1 to 2 teas chopped chipotle chili

1 Tbs rice wine vinegar

4 Tbs cilantro, chopped

For garnish: grated muenster cheese, green chilies, creme fraiche or sour cream, sprigs of cilantro 

1. Soak beans overnight in plenty of water. Next morning, drain, put them in a large saucepan covered by a couple of inches of water, and bring to a boil; then lower the heat and let them simmer as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

2. Heat a small heavy skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds, when they begin to color, add the oregano, shaking the pan so they don’t burn When the fragrance rises remove from heat and add the paprika and Stir and remove from the pan, Grind in a spice mill or mortar and pestle.

3. If you are using the ancho or chili negro preheat oven to 375, Put the chili in the oven until it dries out, to 5 minutes, then cool it briefly, Remove stems and seeds and grind in spice mill.

4. Put the onions and oil in a large skillet and cook over medium heat until the onions soften. Add garlic, salt, ground spices and chili and cook 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and their juice, and 1

Teaspoon of the chipotle, chili. Simmer for 15 minutes then add to the beans. Add water if needed to have liquid 1 inch above the beans.

5. Cook everything slowly until the beans are soft, an hour or longer. Add water if needed¨ though this should be quite thick when done. When the beans are done, taste for salt, and add more chipotle chili if you’d like. Add the vinegar and cilantro.

6. Serve in bowls over a spoonful of grated cheese, topped with sour cream and other garnishes if desired.

Minestrone Soup

And now my diabetic sister and her heart-attack-survivor-husband, in London, have it and are anticipating their 10th – decisive – day; when it begins to go away …OR… when it begins to strangle the lungs, leading to a death by what feels like drowning.  

And my son asks why I am going to the supermarket. (“We need food.”) He’s seventeen and is frightened that I will die. Which is fair. But we need food.  

And I need to go to the liquor store too. (What’s the additional quantity of risk in that?) 

But last night I stayed up until 3 in the morning making Marcella Hazan’s… 

(Marcella Hazan was an Italian-born cooking writer whose books were published in English. Her cookbooks are credited with introducing the public in the United States and Britain to the techniques of traditional Italian cooking. She was considered by chefs and fellow food writers to be the doyenne of Italian cuisine.) 

…recipe for Minestrone, which, if anyone disputes that it’s the best minestrone in the history of cuisine, I am confident that they will be virulently attacked by Marcella’s fanatically devoted following. I may have made this up, but in her discussion about pasta, I believe she took great pains to describe the virtues of the taste and feel of pasta cooked “al dente,” how best to achieve pasta “al dente,” but concluded with, “if you cook your pasta al dente, and don’t like it, continue to cook it al dente until you do. If you continue to dislike pasta cooked al dente, please stop using my cookbook.” But of course, I may be misremembering. Here’s Marcella Hazan’s recipe for Minestrone.  

Four things: 

1. Don’t ignore the recommendation for the crusts of Parmigianno-Reggiano. Multo criticale!

2. If you are at all able, make your own beef broth. It will make all the difference in the world. And, if you want a recipe for beef broth, write me (rubeadube@aol.com) and I will send you a very, very good one.

3. Use the dried white Cannellini beans as recommended. Soak overnight, then heat and boil as Marcella recommends. Multo, multo criticale!

4. My oldest sister (not the one with Corona in London) loves this soup too and calls it “Pizza soup.” Let me know if you agree.

ecco il recipe 

Marcella Hazans Minestrone alla Romagna  

To make the soup really sublime, garnish with grated parmesan, freshly grated black pepper, and a drizzle of good olive oil. Serve with toasted bread brushed with olive oil and rubbed with garlic. This recipe has been altered only ever so slightly. As my mom would have told you, you don’t mess with Marcella. 

½ cup extra virgin olive oil 

3 tablespoons butter 

1 cup onion sliced very thin 

1 cup diced carrots 

1 cup diced celery 

2 cups peeled, diced potatoes 

¼ pound fresh green beans 

1 pound fresh zucchini, diced 

3 cups shredded Savoy cabbage or regular cabbage 

1 ½ cups canned cannellini beans, drained, or ¾ cup dried white beans, soaked and cooked 

6 cups Basic Homemade Meat Broth (or chicken stock) 

Optional (but recommended): the crust from a piece of parmigiano-reggiano cheese 2/3 cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, with their juice 

Salt

1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese 

Choose a stockpot that can comfortably accommodate all the ingredients. Put in the oil, butter, and sliced onion and turn on the heat to medium low. Cook the onion in the uncovered pot until it wilts and becomes colored a pale gold, but no darker. 

Add the diced carrots and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once or twice. Then add the celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 or 3 minute. Add the potatoes, repeating the same procedure. While the carrots, celery, and potatoes are cooking, soak the green beans in cold water, snap off both ends, and dice them. Add the diced green beans to the pot, and when they have cooked for 2 or 3 minutes, add the zucchini. Continue to give all the ingredients an occasional stir and, after another few minutes, add the shredded cabbage. Continue cooking for another 5 to 6 minutes. Add the broth, the optional cheese crust, the tomatoes with their juice, and a sprinkling of salt. If using canned broth, salt lightly at this stage, and taste and correct for salt later on. Give the contents of the pot a thorough stirring. Cover the pot, and lower the heat, adjusting it so that the soup bubbles slowly, cooking at a steady but gentle simmer. When the soup has cooked for 2 ½ hours, add the drained, cooked cannellini beans, stir well, and cook for at least another 30 minutes. If necessary, you can turn off the heat at any time and resume the cooking later. Cook until the consistency is fairly dense. Minestrone ought never to be thin and watery. If you should find that the soup is becoming too thick before it has finished cooking, you can dilute it with a bit of broth. When the soup is done, just before you turn off the heat, remove the cheese crust, swirl in the grated cheese, then taste and correct for salt. 

Return to the guide.

Rosemary and Lemon Salmon

By Gary Perez

Click the image to view the recipe.