Roasted chicken & grapes
And my fav Adam Liaw hacks.
My kitchen is currently in a state of disarray. There are glasses and mugs in the living room, platters on the floor, and pots under the dining table. Surveying the chaos, I've realized that my jar stash is embarrassingly large and desperately needs a cull.
Why? Well, after Drew put his CAD skills to good use and designed us an absolute dream kitchen, reality (the cost) set in and we decided that getting rid of our tiled benchtops* and painting the poor old girl was a better (our only) option - for now.
So it’s out with the chipped and water-marked sky-blue cabinets and in with miso. A colour which I think is yellow, Drew thinks is green, and in a certain light, is a little brown. While that may sound a bit ‘snot-like’, trust me, it’ll make sense when the benchtops are done.
Anyway, this is a very long-winded way of saying that amid the mess, not a lot of cooking has been done lately. So this week, as one would say in 2013, it’s a #TBT (hashtag throwback Thursday). This recipe is from when I was in a different kitchen altogether as you will notice from the delightful brown tiles.
Fruit and meat together in a dish can be a bit controversial, though I don’t understand why. A classic chicken and apricot casserole, ripe melon and salty prosciutto, crispy pork chops with fresh apple sauce, roast duck with tart rhubarb and orange, or even slow-cooked lamb with bobbly, chunky pieces of quince. It’s a yes from me.
This recipe puts chicken and grapes together. I found these dark red long boy grapes from the vege shop and couldn’t resist but any red grape would work. As the chicken crisps and braises in the wine-infused broth, the onions, and grapes become jammy. Perfect for scooping over polenta, mashed potatoes, or as seen here, cous cous. I’ve also had it with a green salad and a big bowl of fries for dipping into the sauce. Another yes.
*I implore you never get tiled bench tops. This is the second place I’ve lived with them and while they give the cute, retro vibe I love. The cleaning and maintenance are a nightmare.
+ Note added: I try to write these at the start of the week to give me time to edit pictures and text and occasionally, panic and re-write the whole thing. So seeing the very clever Sam Mannering send an almost identical recipe yesterday got me all flustered. His recipe looks great, his recipes are always great - his carrot cake wins me friends every time I make it. But, I decided that instead of feeling like an imposter, I’m going to take it as a sign that it’s a good dish. So make his version or, make this version, I don’t mind. You’re going to have a delicious dinner either way. +
Roasted chicken & grapes.
Ingredients:
2 Tblsp olive oil
4 x bone in, skin on, chicken thighs (approx 800g)
1 onion, peeled & quartered
3 x garlic cloves, cut in half lengthways
½ cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
350-400g red seedless grapes
2 sprigs rosemary
S&P
Preheat the oven to 200C fan bake.
Pat your chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and season with salt.
Heat a large oven-proof pan (big enough to fit all the above ingredients in) over medium heat.
Add the oil and once hot, place your chicken skin side down in the pan. Leave for 4-5 minutes to brown the chicken skin and render out some of the fat.
Take the chicken out of the pan and put it to one side. Add your onion quarters to the pan on the flat side and leave to char a little and get some colour. Flip and char on the other flat side.
Add the garlic cloves and white wine. Let bubble and simmer till reduced by half. Then add the chicken stock.
Nestle the chicken back in, skin side up, and scatter the grapes and rosemary around the chicken. Season well and bring back to a simmer.
Once simmering, place in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through and the grapes a bit jammy.
To serve, portion out over mashed potatoes, polenta, cous cous or even fries.
Adam Liaw is wonderful, if you haven’t had the pleasure, let me introduce you.
You can access a tonne of his recipes on goodfoodau, sbs food, or his own website. His recipes manage to traverse multiple cultures and cuisines while still being fun, super simple, and most importantly, yum. He’s particularly good at a kitchen ‘hack’. Here are just three.
This mid-week dinner fancying up of the old ‘bachelor’s handbag’.
I’ve made his once cooked (they’re actually twice cooked but does a microwave count?) chips multiple times. If you’ve never seen/tried his technique before, you should.
He’s also the one who made me brave enough to do an ‘all in pav’. Which if you’ve ever made a pavlova, goes against everything you will have been taught. But it works.
That’s it, that’s all.
Rosie