mattersoftaste.com.au

Slow Roasted Chicken with Winter Waldorf and Cauliflower Skordalia

method

1. Brine chicken at least 24 hours before cooking. Dissolve salt in 250ml hot tap water. Add cold water to make 2 litres of brining liquid. Place chicken in snugly fitting plastic, glass or ceramic container and pour over brining solution to immerse completely. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
2. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 100°C.
3. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry. Rub with butter and season with salt and pepper. Place in snug fitting roasting pan and roast for 4 hours, or until chicken reaches 75ºC in the thickest part of the breast. Remove from oven, cover with foil and rest for 45 minutes.
4. Meanwhile prepare waldorf. Turn oven to 180ºC. Place roughly chopped walnut kernels on baking tray and roast for 8 minutes, until fragrant and lightly golden. Cool. Remove leaves from
   chicory and cut heart in half. Remove core from apples with corer. Thinly slice apple top to bottom on mandolin and toss with lemon juice. Set all aside.
5. Turn oven to 240ºC. Place chicken back into oven and roast for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
6. To make cauliflower skordalia, melt butter in medium saucepan. Thinly slice cauliflower and cook gently in butter for 4 to 5 minutes with lid on pan. Add (hot) milk, season with salt and white pepper and continue to simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until cauliflower is soft. Puree until smooth in blender. Check seasoning and alter if necessary.
7. Rest chicken for 20 minutes, covered.
8. Drain off juices and skim off top layer of fat. Check jus for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
9. Carve chicken into portions by pulling each leg away from carcass and cut thigh from drumstick. Cut thigh in half along side of bone. Cut breast from ribs, include wing if possible and cut into 3 pieces.
10. Toss chicory leaves, apple slices and walnuts together in large bowl. Ladle a pool of hot cauliflower skordalia onto each warm serving plate, top with portion of chicken. Place handful of waldorf salad to one side and drizzle with jus.
11. Serve immediately.

cooks notes

• Based on Heston Blumenthals succulent roasted chicken, whilst it takes more planning and time than a conventional roasting method it is thoroughly worth it.
• If time is of the essence simply roast chicken at 180C for 1½ hours and rest for 20 minutes before carving.
• Remove wishbone from raw chicken and it will be easier to carve when cooked.
• Cauliflower skordalia is gorgeous with lamb as well as chicken or turkey.
• If chicory hard to find, try another bitter salad leaf such as frisee or radicchio.
• I ate this dish at Beaufort Street Merchant a few winters ago. I loved it so much, I created this recipe to share.