This dish--roast chicken on a bed of warm bread salad with wilted arugula, pine nuts, and currants--is the best known creation of San Francisco's famed Zuni Cafe. This version uses my favorite Roasted Chicken recipe, increases the bread and arugula ratio, and features sherry vinegar. It's a flexible recipe. Try a different vinegar, use green onions in place of the garlic, add chiles, use walnuts--whatever strikes your fancy.
You can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, but the lack of ample pan juices will detract from the flavor and you may need to add more olive oil to moisten the bread.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 chicken
- Salt
- Butter
- 1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
- 1 loaf French, Italian, or sourdough bread
- Olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1/2 cup currants
- 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 4 oz. arugula or other spicy lettuce leaves
- Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:
- Rinse chicken with cool water. Dry with paper towels. Use your fingers to loosen the skin from the meat on the breasts and thighs.
- Measure out 1/2 tsp. salt per pound of chicken (i.e. a 4-lb. chicken will need 2 tsp. salt). Rub salt all over chicken, including under the loosened skin. Set chicken breast-side up in a roasting pan and chill up to 36 hours.
- Bring chicken to room temperature and preheat oven to 400°. Rub breasts and top of thighs of chicken with butter. Pour wine or broth into bottom of pan. Roast, undisturbed, until browned, about 45 minutes. Check occasionally and add broth or water if pan looks dry.
- Meanwhile, cut bread into 1/2-inch slices. Brush slices liberally with olive oil. Grill or broil until grill-marked or toasted on both sides. Cut bread into bite-size cubes and set aside in a large bowl.
- Reduce oven heat to 325°, spoon some pan juices over the chicken (add more broth or water if pan is dry), and continue roasting until meat pulls away from ends of drumsticks and thighs joints feel loose and move easily when you wiggle the end of a drumstick, about 30 minutes (cooking times for chicken vary greatly depending on size, temperature going into the oven, and precision of oven temperature, so go by how the chicken looks and feels, not the clock). Experienced chefs also know that a fully-roasted chicken makes a slight hissing whistle or "singing" sound.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a small frying pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and currants, Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add vinegar, bring to a boil, and drizzle evenly over reserved bread cubes. Quickly toss to combine.
- Return pan to heat and toast pine nuts, about 30 seconds. Add to bread and toss to combine.
- Transfer chicken to large cutting board. Put bread mixture in roasting pan, tossing to combine with pan juices, and put in oven. Let chicken sit for at least 10 minutes. Cut out back bone, halve chicken down center of the breast bone, cut off legs and separate thighs and drumsticks, separate wings from breasts, cut breast halves in half. You will have 8 pieces (not including the back).
- Remove bread mixture from oven. Toss with arugula until leaves wilt. Add black pepper to taste. Put bread salad in a serving dish or platter and arrange chicken on top or around salad. Serve hot or warm.
Makes 4 to 6 servings Roasted Chicken With Bread Salad & Arugula.
