Marcella Hazan's Roast Chicken with Lemons

I saw this chicken recipe recently posted by my friend Mari at Once Upon a Plate.  Mari writes one of my favorite blogs. If you've never visited her blog, pour yourself a beverage and settle in, you're in for a treat.

My favorite way to prepare roast chicken is a time consuming process that requires at 8-24 hours, but sometimes time is limited and a quick technique like this one by Marcella Hazan is in order.  It just doesn't get much easier than this - one chicken, two lemons, and a little salt and pepper.  That's it, and you end up with the most wonderfully juicy and delicious bird.  Let's walk through to process.

Aside from a clean, dry, and seasoned-with-salt-and-pepper chicken, you'll need 2 lemons, a toothpick, and an oven-safe roasting pan like this cast iron number.  I lined my pan with a parchment circle as suggested by someone online, but I won't bother next time - Marcella's recipe states it isn't necessary.

Okay, roll each lemon on the counter; pressing firmly to get the juices flowing (allow lemons to come to room temperature for the best results).  Then poke each lemon 20 or so times with the toothpick and place both lemons, whole, right inside the cavity of the well seasoned bird.  Use the toothpick to hold the cavity closed.

Use a little kitchen twine to tie hold the legs together.  The chicken will plump up as it roasts and if you skip this step the bird will won't have a very "polite" presentation on your table.  Now, into the roasting pan BREAST SIDE DOWN (no oil or butter needed).  Roast at 350F for about 30 minutes.

Then flip the bird over so the breast is facing up and increase the oven temp to 400F.  Continue to roast until the bird is done (about 20 minutes for each pound), or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165F.

Note

• I didn't realize the recipe called for a 3-4 pound bird until I had already purchased a nearly 7 pounder, but I adjusted the cooking time accordingly (as directed above) and it turned out fine.  I reserved the pan drippings and carcass to make homemade chicken stock.

Pasta 101 - How to Cook Perfect Pasta Every Time

There's nothing more satisfying to me than perfectly cooked pasta.  It's a pretty simple task, but I find so many people are confused about how long to cook it, how much salt they should add, whether or not they should add oil, etc.

As far as I'm concerned, the first thing you have to do is start with a good brand of pasta.  Other than that, there are two major rules to remember - 1) season your water properly (should be salty like the sea), and 2) do not, I repeat, DO NOT let the pasta over cook.

Okay, time to cook so do like me:

For 1 pound of pasta, start with 1 gallon of cold water, and make sure your pot is large enough.  This is a 6 quart stockpot (for 2 pounds of pasta I would use a 12 quart stockpot).  Cover and bring to a boil.

When the water boils, add 1 ounce of salt (30 grams).  I weighed Kosher and fine sea salt - the volume was identical for both (4 1/2 teaspoons).

Controversial side note - you can add oil to the water if you like, but I don't.  Yes, oil will keep the starchy bubbles from boiling over, but if you use plenty of water and a big enough stockpot, you won't have to worry about it.  Some people say adding oil to the water helps keep the pasta from sticking together, but I disagree - the oil floats on top of the water, which does nothing to keep the pasta from sticking together... and the oil disappears down the drain before the pasta even hits the colander, which doesn't keep the pasta from sticking either.  But hey, if you like to use it, go for it.

Add pasta to the salted water and give it a stir.  Boil until it's almost done cooking - use the time given on the package as a guideline.  The only guaranteed way to know for sure is to taste the pasta. 

photo courtesy of my son's fancy schmancy camera - I'm drooling

Pasta should resist a little when bitten.  This batch is going into some meat sauce so I'll remove it from the water a little early and allow it to finish cooking in the sauce.  Mangia-Mangia! 

Tip - if I plan to serve my pasta and sauce separately, I'll let it cook a minute or two more, drain, rinse the hot stockpot with cold water so the pasta doesn't continue to cook, add the drained pasta back to the pot, drizzle with a little olive oil, and stir well.  Pasta will hold like this for an hour or so, or it can be refrigerated for use later.

Perfect Pasta

makes 1 pound (8 servings)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound good dried pasta - De Cecco is my favorite, but I like Barilla and Ronzoni too

• 1 gallon (16 cups) cold water

• 1 ounce of salt (30 grams, or 4 1/2 teaspoons Kosher or sea salt)

Directions

1. In a 6-quart or larger stock pot, bring water to a boil.

2. Slowly add salt and stir to dissolve completely (otherwise the salt will pit the bottom of your stockpot).

3. Add pasta and stir occasionally to prevent sticking; continue cooking until pasta reaches "al dente"