Recipes – Page 54 – Seven Plates

It’s easy to roast a chicken. If all you have time to do is season it with oil, salt and pepper and throw it in an oven, you can do that! One hour later, dinner is ready. This particular recipe, however, steps it up a notch. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1- 4 lb whole chicken

1 lemon, sliced

1/2 onion, sliced

Salt and pepper for seasoning

For herb butter:

1/2 cup of butter, room temperature

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 tsp of minced garlic

2 tsp of coarse ground pepper

1 Tbsp of salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Place the chicken, backside up, on a cutting board and cut out the backbone with kitchen shears. (See video for demonstration.) Turn the chicken over and press flat.

Meanwhile, prepare herb butter by mixing softened butter with rosemary, garlic and pepper. Set aside.

Separate the skin from the flesh with your fingers, creating a pocket for placing herb butter under the skin. (This step gives the chicken that extra juice and flavor while roasting.) Baste the entire surface of the chicken with remaining butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Prepare the roasting pan for the chicken by lining it with sliced a lemon and onion. Place the chicken on top of the lemon and onion and transfer the pan to the oven. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 40 more minutes. Be sure to check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. Chicken should be cooked to 165 degrees. Let it rest 15 minutes before carving.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Place the chicken, backside up, on a cutting board and cut out the backbone with kitchen shears. (See video for demonstration.) Turn the chicken over and press flat.

Meanwhile, prepare herb butter by mixing softened butter with rosemary, garlic and pepper. Set aside.

Recently, I posted about lettuce wraps. Now I’m posting about cabbage wraps. (Just as good, with a little more work.) If you made last night’s slow-cooked pork roast- you are well on your way!

Pork Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

For stuffing:

1 lbs of cooked pork roast, shredded into small pieces

1 head of green cabbage, outer leaves discarded

6 slices of caraway bread

2 eggs

1 cup of chicken broth

3 green onions, white and light green portions, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp of salt

1 tsp of pepper

For sauce:

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes

Begin by removing the core from the cabbage and placing it in a pot of boiling water to cook for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool. When it is cool, gently peel off the outer leaves. Continue as long as you can peel the cabbage leaves without breaking. You should be able to get about 10-12 leaves, depending on the size of the cabbage.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place sliced bread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until the bread begins to toast. Remove and cut into cubes to be used as breadcrumbs.

In a large bowl, combine, pork, bread crumbs, egg, broth, green onions, salt and pepper. Using your hands, gently but thoroughly blend the ingredients. Divide the pork filling among the cabbage leaves. Fold the core end of each leaf over the filling, then fold in the sides and roll up the leaf. Set aside.

For the sauce, add the oil, onion, celery and carrot to the pot. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes

Place the cabbage rolls, seam sides down, in a single layer in the pan, spooning some of the tomato sauce over the rolls, while reserving the rest for serving. Cover, transfer to the oven and bake until the cabbage rolls are heated through, about 30 minutes.

Transfer the cabbage rolls to warmed bowls. Ladle the tomato sauce over the top.