Recipe: Herb Roasted Chicken with Pepper Slaw
I first visited New York in the fall of 2000. At the time, I was a competitive member of the USTA (United States Tennis Association) and in love tennis. My coach, Don Johnson (God rest his soul), used to begin practice by playing against one of his students, and then, while we were seated on the court, give a lecture, often in the form of a story. One of those lectures was about his dream of taking a bunch his players across the country, back to his home, New York, and playing tennis there. While that specific dream never came true, a version of it did. During these morning lectures, he would often bring up his former hitting partner, Arthur Ashe. Arthur was not only a friend to Don Johnson; he was a mentor, an inspiration, as he was to so many. Tennis saved Don Johnson’s life; Arthur gave it direction.
When the USTA offered an essay contest for the opening of Arthur Ashe Stadium, it seemed like a no brainer that I should enter, considering the numerous stories Coach had shared with me about him and Arthur. It shocked all of us when I won. The winner was flown out with their family to New York for the US Open. It was a magical trip. My mother and I flew across the country, and I experienced not only the US Open, meeting some of my favorite players, but also, New York… the city I fell in love with. I saw my first Broadway show. I used the subway for the first time. I saw the New York skyline. I had lunch at former Mayor Dinkins house, where I had to speak about why Arthur Ashe was a hero to me. It was a magical trip.
This memory is one of my most cherished. I shared when I spoke at my Coach’s funeral a few years ago. Don Johnson was a “man’s man”. Raised in a culture where strength was required to keep away from drugs, getting involved in gangs, surviving poverty; he exuded masculinity. The first night I was in New York, he came into my mom and my hotel room at the Grand Hyatt, near Grand central station, and cried. I have never seen him cry before. He cried tears of joy. He told me how much having his dream come true meant to him. How much it meant to him that I was there with him. I learned that day to break through some of my pessimistic veneer. Dreams do come true.
Alright, that was serious, haha. Now, time to move on to the food.
Why am I writing this? Well, the first night my mother and I arrived, we were the last of the winners to arrive. Most had come from states closer to New York and we could not get a flight that landed much earlier than 5pm. The other winners were at a Yankees game, as we boarded a taxi and braved the New York traffic to get into Midtown from JFK.
By the time we checked into our hotel, it was almost 8pm. My mother and I were both exhausted from a day of travel and hungry. She asked the concierge for a restaurant recommendation. He recommended an American Jazz place not too far away. We walked there and upon entering, it was one of the coolest places I’d ever been: exposed brick wall, live Jazz band, smoke hanging in the air. We were seated and given the menu. For a 16-year-old, who is not nearly as adventurous as I am today, in terms of food, I didn’t see much I wanted to order. Finally, I saw a roasted chicken. That sounded safe. I forget what my mother got.
When the dish came, I was disappointed. The side dish was a Bell Pepper slaw. No cabbage or lettuce, just peppers. It had a bite of vinegar to it and was not creamy. I didn’t particularly like it, although, I liked the chicken. However, memory is a funny thing, especially with food. I have carried that memory of the flavor dish for 18 years. And thankfully, my tastes have grown. I have recreated it many times to take me back to the memory of my first night in New York. I went looking for the restaurant when I moved to New York in 2002, but could never find it. However, I can go there in my memory and in the taste of this dish.
Ingredients:
1 Whole Chicken 4-5 lbs.
½ an onion
1 lemon
2 sprigs of sage
1 sprig of rosemary
1 bundle of parsley, just the leaves
4 sprigs of thyme
1 clove of garlic
2 sprigs of oregano
1 stick of butter
1 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 red bell peppers
2 orange bell peppers
2 yellow bell peppers
(a few of the parsley leaves from the bundle used before)
½ tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Splash of red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon of sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 package of fingerling potatoes
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Smash and peel the clove of garlic before placing it in a food processor. Then add in the parsley leaves, and strip the leaves off of the sprigs for the rosemary, thyme, and oregano before adding them as well. Process the herbs and garlic, until they are finely chopped. Then, add 1 stick of room temperature butter as well as a sprinkle of salt and pepper. If you don’t have room temperature, not a problem, but you will need to knead the butter after it comes out of the food processor to make sure all of the clumps are broken up and the herbs evenly distributed. Set aside.
Then turn your attention to the chicken. Using your hands, reach into where the neck is carefully sliding your fingers under the skin. Make sure not to break the skin. Then, using your fingers under the skin separate it from the breasts and around the thigh and leg. The skin should not be broken, but now have space between it and the flesh of the meat. Take the butter, all but 3 tablespoons, and stuff the butter under the skin, spreading it out so that all the flesh gets covered.
At this point, you want to salt and pepper the cavity of the chicken and then stuff that with the half onion and the lemon cut in half. Then sprinkle salt over the entire bird.
Next, truss your chicken (bending the wings under the bird, using twine to tie the legs together and loop around the chicken to keep the breast as close to the legs as possible). Then place in a roast dish with a rack ideally. Drizzle in a little water into the bottom of the pan to keep the juices from burning. Place into the 350 degree oven. You will cook it for between 1 hour and 30 mins to 2 hours, till done. A meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, not touching the bone, and it should read 160-165. Carry over temperature should bring it up to 170.
Thirty minutes into cooking, whisk 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the paprika and brush the chicken with it. Continue to glaze it every thirty minutes.
With a little over thirty minutes to go, cut the fingerling potatoes in half. Toss with the the 2-3 tablespoons of reserved herb butter, salt, and a little olive oil. Place on a lined sheet tray (aluminum foil makes it easier to clean) and place into the oven for 30-40 minutes to roast while the Chicken finishes cooking.
In the meantime, slice the bell peppers as thin as possible. Drizzle the olive oil, rice wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, a drizzle of the paprika oil, garlic powder, reserved parsley leaves, salt and pepper. Then set aside. If you are going to keep it overnight or to be used another day, drain off any liquid and then place in an airtight container. The salt will continue to pull out water from the slaw.
When the chicken is done, remove from the oven and allow to cool covered for 10 mins. Then cut the leg and thigh off in one piece and then the breast and wing with the other.
Plate potatoes first, then chicken on top, finally placing the slaw on the plate.
