Chicken With Torn Sourdough, Sherry, Raisins & Bitter Greens

Hopefully the pictures do this recipe for Chicken With Torn Sourdough, Sherry, Raisins & Bitter Greens justice. I loved it. It reminded us of all the wonderful dinners we used to have a Zuni in San Francisco. What a wonderful restaurant and what a great cookbook. This recipe was probably developed independently of the Zuni recipe, I don't know for sure and it makes no difference. All of the the classic Zuni Chicken recipes (of which we have several variations) are are excellent. This recipe joins the club. It is good, give it a try. Although we haven't been to San Francisco, for a few years I am sure one fine day we will return for a visit. When we return we will go back to Zuni.

Chicken With Torn Sourdough, Sherry, Raisins & Bitter Greens

From the Oven to the Table

Diana Henry

 

SERVES 4

1-1/2  cups sourdough bread, torn into pieces roughly 2in square

1         pound small waxy potatoes, scrubbed and cut into chunks

1         large onion, cut into wedges

6         thyme sprigs

2         teaspoons crushed red pepper

1         head of garlic, cloves 1 separated but not peeled

1/3      lb pancetta or Slab bacon, in 1 piece

8         good-sized skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, excess, skin neatly trimmed

2         tablespoons sherry vinegar

1         cup amontillado sherry

5         tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

10       thin scallions, trimmed

1/3      cup raisins

¼        pound bitter salad greens (such as radicchio, Belgian endive, frisée, dandelion or treviso)

3         tablespoons toasted pine ruts

 

There’s a lot going on here, though its a very simple dish. The sourdough pieces end up crunchy with a moist, slightly boozy, garlic-infused underside. There is sweetness from the sherry and raisins, bitterness from the greens, and saltiness from the bacon. It’s all about contrast. Use watercress—just arrange small fistfuls among the cooked chicken—if you aren’t keen on bitter greens, and up the red pepper if you want more heat.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Put the bread, potatoes, onion, thyme, crushed red pepper, and garlic cloves into a large roasting pan. Cut the pancetta or bacon into ¼-inch chunks and add them to the pan with the chicken. Pour on the sherry vinegar, 1/4 cup of the sherry, and 4 tablespoons olive oil. Season and toss everything around with your hands, finishing with the chicken skin side up. Make sure the bread isn’t too exposed, or lying at the edges, or it will burn.

Roast for 25 minutes—tossing the ingredients around once but making sure the chicken is still skin side up—then add another ¼ cup sherry.

Mix the scallions in a bowl with the remaining olive oil and add them to the pan, too, laying them on top of the vegetables. Return to the oven and roast for a final 15 minutes.

Pour the remaining sherry into a small saucepan with the raisins and bring to just under a boil. Let sit, then add them to the roasting pan 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

Transfer everything to a large, warmed platter or broad, shallow serving dish (unless you’re happy to take the roasting pan to the table) and mix in whichever of the greens you want to use (or just serve them on the side). Throw on the pine nuts and serve.