Saveur (March 2010)
Dear Saveur Magazine:
Okay, okay -- we give up! We'll begin planning a trip to Los Angeles ASAP.
It's almost as if you knew, in planning your special Los Angeles issue, that L.A. has been on our "long weekend trip" list for well over a year and that we're overdue to visit friends, see the sights, and eat at that magical Kogi truck.
Plus, a recipe from Good Food's Evan Kleiman? You had us at roast chicken. See you in L.A.!
-- Zach & Clay
Seriously -- we need to get ourselves to Los Angeles.
If we needed any convincing at all, it was taken care of by Saveur's excellent issue on the city (with its stunningly gorgeous cover photo), chronicling what seems to be just about every aspect of eating and food culture in the City of Angels.
And as if we needed any more convincing, we nearly ran to the kitchen to start cooking when we saw a recipe from Evan Kleiman, chef/owner of Angeli Cafe and host of KCRW's Good Food, which we podcast each week. We've sung the praises of Kleiman and her show before. If you're not listening, get to it.
Now, she's not only the host of one of our favorite podcasts, but she's also the author of what may be our new favorite roast chicken recipe.
We've written extensively about our experiments with different roast chicken recipes. Really, we don't mind the experimentation. Roast chicken is just about our favorite meal. In fact, when our friend Ken invited us over for dinner a few weeks ago in the middle of a snowstorm, he had barely gotten out the words "roast chicken" before we were suited up and bounding out the door.
Kleiman's roast chicken, called Pollo Arrosto, is a simple preparation, and we think that's one reason it's so successful. Chicken pieces are marinated for an hour in a mixture of olive oil, rosemary, lemon juice, garlic, along with a peeled, chopped lemon. The chicken, along with the marinade, is then placed in a serving dish and roasted. The hardest part? Flipping the chicken pieces once during the roasting.
Yeah, it's that simple.
When we made this chicken, we did a mix of thighs, legs and breasts. We found that although the breasts were good, the thighs and legs were more flavorful and really showed off the delicious marinade. Plus, due to the size of our chicken breasts, they took longer to cook than the other pieces. Next time, we'll likely skip the breasts.
We could rhapsodize all day about the interplay of the lemon with the rosemary and garlic or the delicious tangy skin.
But really, you need to experience this for yourself. Immediately.
If you're a roast chicken fanatic, make this for dinner tonight. We think you'll be blown away.
Lemon and Rosemary Chicken (Pollo Arrosto)
Saveur (March 2010)
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(This photo: Andre Baranowski/Saveur)
1 3 1⁄2-lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄2 cup fresh rosemary leaves
1⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice
10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 lemon, peel removed, pith and pulp chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1. Toss chicken with oil, rosemary, lemon juice, garlic, lemon, and salt and pepper in bowl. Marinate for 1 hour.
2. Heat oven to 475°. Arrange chicken in a 9" x 13" baking dish; add remaining marinade. Roast, flipping once, until cooked through, 30–40 minutes.
SERVES 4
