Tag Archives: roasted

Poultry ala Sunbird – Fragile Things

Thoughts:

This plate is full of exotic, old world flavors. The chicken is soft and tender, and the meat falls from the bone, gently infused with the ingredients in the cider can. Flavors from the herbs are just barely present, but there, and the lavender mostly fades to the background, except for a hint of aroma.

The sauce is out of this world. Vanilla bean might seem counter-intuitive  but it blends with the other flavors surprisingly well. I wondered how the garlic and the sweeter flavors would meld, but the whole thing came together wonderfully. The grains of paradise, which were my own addition, give the sauce a little bit of a kick. The final squeeze of citrus in the sauce gives the whole a little zip, and helps to round out the feeling of the sauce on the tongue.

I’d love to try this same recipe with a pheasant, but until one happens my way, I’ll be more than happy to enjoy this with chicken again and again.


Poultry ala Sunbird Recipe

Cider Can with Herbs | Food Through the PagesIngredients:

  • 1 chicken
  • 1 can of cider, 1/3 filled
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 1 sprig sage
  • 1/2 tsp. dried lavender
  • 1 tsp. cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp. coriander seed

Fill the can of cider with the spices and herbs. Place the can inside the chicken, and stand it up in a pot. Cover with aluminium foil, and cook for around 1 hour. While it’s cooking, make the sauce (below).

Remove the chicken from the oven, and let rest for 15 minutes.

Discard the can and carve the bird. Drizzle with sauce, and serve hot.

Sauce:

Cook’s Notes: Of all the quirky ingredients that went into the description of this dish, patchouli was the only one I didn’t have on hand. Feel free to improvise according to what’s in your own pantry!

  • 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2/3 can cider
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 Tbs. honey
  • 1/2 tsp. red sandalwood powder
  • 1/2 tsp. ground grains of paradise
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • pinch of cloves
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 1 Tbs. molasses
  • 1 Tbs. worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Tbs. fresh orange or lemon juice

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and sautee until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for around 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened. Turn off the heat, add the citrus juice, and stir to incorporate. Serve immediately.

Roasted Capon w/ garlic, onions, grapes & figs

“So Locke scuttled about, embarrassment and relief mingled on his face. The meal was roasted capon stuffed with garlic and onions, with grapes and figs scalded in a hot wine sauce on the side. Father Chains poured all of his usual toasts, dedicating the last to ‘Jean Tannen, who lost one family but came to another soon enough.'”

–The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch

Thoughts:

Delicious. It’s a dish that would be warm and comforting to a newly orphaned boy, yet different enough to showcase the culinary skills of the Sanza brothers and to take a reader into the world of Camorr.

The sauce, for me, was part of what made this dish sound so appealing. I’d been keeping an eye out for fresh figs, and when I finally found some, I knew I had to make this recipe asap. The final dish is a fascinating combination of sweets and savories. The onions and garlic infuse the chicken from the inside out, leaving the tender meat savory with flavor.

I wasn’t sure that the flavors of the stuffing would pair well with the sauce, but it actually works quite well. On its own, the chicken tastes of the stuffing, but with the sauce, and a bit of fruit, it becomes a sweet bite, all but overpowering the more savory elements. 

Now I just need to sort out the Rock Eel smothered in a Caramel-Brandy Sauce… :)

Recipe for Capon with Grapes & Figs

Cook’s Notes: Capon, while different from chicken in flavor and texture, is not essential to the enjoyment of this recipe. Feel free to substitute a chicken!

Main Ingredients:

  • 1 capon, or chicken
  • small onions, such as cippolini, pearl, or boiler, peeled
  • 1 head of garlic, separated and peeled
  •  2 Tbs. olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1 cup seedless grapes
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 6 fresh figs, sliced in quarters
  • 1 cup red wine
  • pinch of grains of paradise, or black pepper
  • pinch of ground cloves
  • pinch of mahlep (optional, but tasty)
  • 1 Tbs. honey
  • 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp. red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 400F. Stuff the bird with the small onions and the garlic, then rub down the outside of the bird with olive oil, followed by a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper, which crisps up the skin. Roast in the oven for around an hour, or until the juice runs clear. 

For the sauce, drizzle your olive oil in a medium sized frying pan, over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the grapes. Cook, stirring for several minutes, until the grapes appear slightly wrinkled and cooked. Add the figs, and continue to stir for another minute more, but stopping before the  figs start to fall apart. 

To the roasted fruits, add the wine, spices, honey, and vinegar. Simmer this mixture until the sauce begins to thicken a bit, about 30 minutes or more. Serve as an accompaniment to the roast chicken/capon. 

 Like this recipe? Check out the other recipes from the Gentlemen Bastards series!

Modern Auroch’s Joints roasted with Leeks

“Such food Bran had never seen; course after course after course, so much that he could not manage more than a bite or two of each dish.  There were great joints of aurochs roasted with leeks, venison pies…”

-A Clash of Kings

Ready for the oven!

Our Thoughts

This was yet another very tasty dish.  The vegetables were absolutely delicious; I could have made a meal of just those!  While the veg almost stole the thunder from the roast beef, the addition of a medieval black pepper sauce really kicked the meat up a few notches.  Definitely a keeper!

Get the aurochs recipe in The Cookbook!