Zuni Chicken

NOTE: This recipe is best if you start prepping the chicken the day before you plan to roast it. All credit to these recipes: Zuni Cafe Chicken, Warm Bread Salad

• One small chicken, 2 3/4 to 3 1/2 pounds
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme, marjoram, rosemary or sage
•  Sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried currants
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• 8 to 10 ounces slightly stale ciabatta or other open-textured white bread
• 8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ tablespoons Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar, approximately
•  Salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, slivered
• ¼ cup thinly sliced scallions
• 4 tablespoons lightly salted chicken stock or lightly salted water
• 4 cups arugula leaves or mustard greens, rinsed and dried

Season the chicken 1 to 3 days before serving (for 3 1/4- to 3 1/2-pound chickens, at least 2 days): Remove and discard the lump of fat inside the chicken. Rinse the chicken and pat very dry (a wet chicken will spend too much time steaming before it begins to turn golden brown).

Slide a finger under the skin of each of the breasts, making 2 little pockets, then use a fingertip to gently loosen a pocket of skin on the outside of the thickest section of each thigh. Push an herb sprig into each of the 4 pockets.

Using about 3/4 teaspoon sea salt per pound of chicken and pepper to taste, season the chicken liberally all over with salt and the pepper. Sprinkle a little of the salt just inside the cavity and on the backbone. Twist and tuck the wing tips behind the shoulders. Cover loosely and refrigerate.

When you’re ready to cook the chicken, heat the oven to 475 degrees. Depending on your oven and the size of your bird, you may need to adjust the heat to as high as 500 degrees or as low as 450 degrees during roasting to brown the chicken properly.

Choose a shallow flameproof roasting pan or dish barely larger than the chicken, or use a 10-inch skillet with an all-metal handle. Preheat the pan over medium heat. Wipe the chicken dry and set it breast side up in the pan. It should sizzle.

Place in the center of the oven and watch for it to start sizzling and browning within 20 minutes. If it doesn’t, raise the temperature progressively until it does. The skin should blister, but if the chicken begins to char, or the fat is smoking, reduce the temperature by 25 degrees. After about 30 minutes, turn the bird over (drying the bird and preheating the pan should keep the skin from sticking). Roast for another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on size, then flip back over to re-crisp the breast skin, another 5 to 10 minutes. Total oven time will be 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the bread salad. Place currants in a small dish, add red wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon warm water, and set aside. Heat broiler. Place pine nuts in a small pan, and toast over medium heat until very lightly colored. Set aside.

Cut bread into three or four large chunks. Closely trim off most of the crust and reserve, if desired, to toast and use for bread crumbs or to float in soup. Brush bread all over with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Briefly broil bread chunks, turning until crisp and golden on surface. Remove from oven, trim off any charred tips, and tear chunks into irregular pieces, from 2-inch wads to large crumbs. You should have 4 cups. Place in wide metal, glass or ceramic salad bowl.

Whisk 1/4 cup olive oil with 1 1/2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle 1 1/2 tablespoons of this dressing over bread and toss.

Place one tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet. Add garlic and scallions, and cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until softened but not colored. Add to bread and fold in. Drain currants and fold in. Add pine nuts and fold in. Drizzle salad with stock or water, and fold in. Taste a couple of pieces of bread. Add a little more vinegar, salt and pepper if necessary. Toss well, and transfer to a 4-cup baking dish. Tent lightly with foil. Do not wash salad bowl. Set salad aside until about 30 minutes before serving time.

When the chicken is ready, remove it from the oven and turn off the heat. Place the bread salad in the oven in its place and leave for 15 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the roasting pan and set on a plate. Pour the clear fat from the pan, leaving the drippings. Add about a tablespoon of water to the hot pan and swirl. Slash the stretched skin between the thighs and breasts of the chicken, then tilt the bird and plate over the roasting pan to drain the juice into the drippings. As the chicken rests, tilt the roasting pan and skim the last of the fat. Place over medium-low heat, add any juice that has collected under the chicken, and bring to a simmer. Stir and scrape.

Carve the chicken into pieces. Return salad to bowl. Add greens, remaining vinaigrette, and enough of remaining olive oil so bread is not dry. Toss again. Arrange greens on a large serving platter, then top with chicken. Pour the pan drippings over the dish, then serve.