Citrus Chicken Rested in Herbs by Alison Roman

Talk about a summer meal! This bright juicy chicken begs for a summer bbq. It’s also a great oven-friendly chicken for days when you want to pretend you’re in summer. The bottom line is summer. 

The first step in this recipe tripped me up. Cutting a chicken completely in half, between the breasts and through the backbone. Can my knife really… do that? The answer is, yes, your knife (if you have a good chef’s knife) really can cut through a backbone if you apply enough pressure. Alison claims a cleaver is the best tool for the job, but honestly, who casually owns a cleaver? And why not spatchcock it? Alison says it “eliminates the air space in the cavity of the bird, which means it will cook much faster.” I don’t know. My gut tells me spatchcocking would have worked just as well, since I made mine in the oven. I can see why cutting it in two pieces would be useful for grilling (ease of flipping), but if I make this again, I may try spatchcocking. 

Both chicken halves are marinated in fresh lime juice (or lemon juice), fresh orange juice, soy sauce, garlic and yuzu kosho. What is yuzu kosho, you ask? It’s a Japanese condiment made from fresh green chiles. It’s the consistency of curry paste and comes in a similarly shaped jar. I searched multiple grocery stores for this little condiment, to no avail. Alison utilizes this ingredient in multiple recipes, so I took the plunge and ordered some on Amazon. Here’s a fun article about it from Bon Appetit if you want to learn more. 

The chicken needs at least 30 minutes in the marinade (or up to 24 hours) to soak in the flavor. Then it’s oven-roasted for 35-45 minutes until the skin is impossibly golden and crispy looking. Plate the halves on top of thinly sliced citrus and a boat load of herbs, and drizzle reserved marinade on top. 

Crispy skin and powerful flavor are what make this chicken special. I can see why yuzu kosho is a popular “secret weapon” -- it adds heat, but heat that’s also tangy instead of a pure heat like gochujang. In other words, yuzu kosho is the Cholula to Sriracha. While Alison says you can substitute the yuzu kosho here for sambal or a jalapeno, I’d encourage you to go the extra mile (or internet search) to find this special chile paste instead. 

62 recipes cooked, 163 to go.

Chocolate-Tahini Tart with Crunchy Salt by Alison Roman

Laundry is a Monday rhythm for me. I descend 29 floors down the elevator, carrying the overflowing basket of clothes and dish towels on my hip. Our laundry room connects to our apartment lobby, and it’s usually quiet on Mondays. 

“I’m calling it ‘Trouble,’” I heard as I walked toward the laundry room door. I turned around to see Gina, the lobby receptionist peering at me with wide eyes over her mask. “Pam agreed it was Trouble. I found myself licking my hands.” After a few seconds of trying to figure out exactly what she was referring to, I remembered the Chocolate-Tahini Tart. I had given her four slices to share with the other staff on Friday, but hadn’t heard a report back. Apparently this one was her favorite Alison dessert so far. 

It’s mine and Jordan’s favorite so far, too. My mother-in-law took one bite of it and said, “I want this on my birthday.”

A brief description is in order. The tart’s crust is a chocolate shortbread. Dry ingredients such as flour and cocoa powder are mixed together with a stick of melted butter and pressed into the tart pan to bake. This was my first time using my own tart pan, which I received as a birthday present last month. I love the clean lines of the fluted crust exterior. The pan’s shape makes me feel like a more experienced baker. The crust is baked and set aside to cool for at least an hour. The filling is also simple – chocolate and tahini melted by simmering honey and heavy cream, stirred together and poured into the crust. Top the crust with a generous sprinkle of flaky sea salt (Maldon is the way to go here) and set aside to cool and set. It can be kept on the counter, wrapped tightly, for a few days. 

I used bittersweet Pound Plus chocolate from TJ’s. The bitter chocolate combined with the subtly nutty tahini kept the filling from being too sweet, which could have been the tart’s downfall. Instead it was just the right amount of rich, the right amount of sweet, the right amount of salt. A balanced, delicate yet substantial, dessert that makes it impossible to avoid seconds. I wonder if it can be beat?

61 recipes cooked, 164 to go.

Lamb Stew with Fennel, Preserved Lemon, and Crispy Fried Bread by Alison Roman

I was not in the mood for lamb stew. I was not in the mood for any kind of food. It was one of those days when hunger is present, but appetite is not. And perhaps the last thing that sounded good was lamb stew. But I spent $20 on a cut of boneless lamb shoulder and the expiration date was nearing (which causes me a particular kind of stress). I needed to make lamb stew. 

The first steps of the recipe requires some elbow grease. It begins by cutting the meat into two inch pieces, seasoning them with salt and pepper, and searing them until quite browned at the bottom of a dutch oven. While the meat is searing, a good bit of chopping and measuring take place. Chopping includes a fennel bulb, multiple garlic cloves and two shallots. Measuring includes cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and tomato paste. After the meat is the proper color and any excess fat is drained off, the chopped ingredients and seasoning spend time in the pot to warm and turn fragrant. Then a half cup of dry white wine deglazes the pot as you scrape up all the burned bits from the bottom. At this stage, the smells wafting up from the pot brought back about 10% of my appetite. 

Next, a can of crushed tomatoes and six cups of water join the stew. Seasoned with salt and pepper, the liquid is set to medium-low heat, and the meat becomes tender as it braises for two and a half hours. As time goes on, the stew thickens and the meat loses its toughness. Another 10% of my appetite returned as I pulled a chunk of lamb apart with my fork, requiring minimal effort to do so. 

As the stew nears completion, it’s back on your feet to make a batch of fried bread. Alison suggests a “country loaf,” but I chose some leftover homemade sourdough. I tore several slices into large-ish chunks and placed them in a skillet with sizzling olive oil. Without pressing the bread down too much so as not to lose any volume, the bread fries and turns a light golden brown. Seasoned with salt and Aleppo pepper, these giant stewtons (get it? Stew-croutons? ok) provide the perfect salty, chewy contrast to the tomatoey, tangy stew and gamey lamb. The final element is preserved lemon – which brightens everything nicely.  

My appetite never fully showed up that day, but I still greatly enjoyed this stew – far more than I expected. Jordan especially loved it. 

I’ll make this again next winter - it would be a lovely snow day meal. 

60 recipes cooked, 165 to go.

Blood Oranges with Crunchy Red Onion and Avocado by Alison Roman

Lately, my mind has been occupied by just about everything other than food. Yesterday I came home from a workout class and had about 30 minutes to shower, dress, and prepare this salad before my in-laws showed up for dinner. But my mind was far, far away from anything that had to do with the tasks before me. 

Instead, I was roaming between downtown Chicago and the suburbs, working out potential commute routes in my head, thinking of traffic. I was in a PT office complaining about my throbbing tendon that continues to flare up every few weeks. I was in my childhood home remembering moments of the past. I was in the Minneapolis skyways, wondering how close Jordan was to coming home. I was anywhere and everywhere but my kitchen. 

A blood orange brought me back to consciousness. Avocado turned off the rushing river of to-do’s and questions about my future. Cilantro made me pay attention. Flaky sea salt greeted my senses, the crunchy yet delicate feel of it between my fingertips. 

Thanks to this salad, I finally heard the conversation happening in my living room. I was present as I arranged the slices of ice water-soaked onions and squeezed lime juice over each plate. I took delight in arranging the fruit and drizzling the olive oil. 

Cooking grounds me. It pulls me from whatever corner my mind is exploring and plops me squarely in front of the cutting board, stove, oven. I am where I am when I cook. And my life is richer for it. 

This salad is definitely the best fruit salad of her’s yet. By soaking the red onions in ice water, they lose their bite. They don’t overpower the dish, but complement the creamy avocado and bright citrus. Lime juice, olive oil and salt pull it all together nicely. Even my mother-in-law who doesn’t love fruit, loved this salad. The way the portions worked out, each plate had one sliced blood orange, a half of one small avocado, and about an eighth of an onion. I could have made it all on one big platter, but plating it individually was more fun.

59 recipes cooked, 166 to go.

Honey-Yogurt Pound Cake with Raspberries by Alison Roman

I find Alison’s recipe introductions delightful. When I read them, I feel as though she’s having a friendly conversation with me. Sometimes she lets me in on a secret; sometimes she divulges her opinions on food prep or ingredient preferences. I appreciate hearing about her failures and victories in the kitchen. 

The intro to this particular recipe is about desserts that travel well, and one’s that don’t. Clearly she’s tried bringing many carefully crafted desserts to a variety of shindigs, and those desserts haven’t always made it to their final destination. At least not in their desired form. But this pound cake? It travels well! 

My own experience can back this up. Apart from the two slices I took down to the lovely receptionist in our apartment lobby, I took the whole cake to a friend’s house wrapped in cling wrap. The cake jostled around in a big bag full of other stuff over a bumpy car ride, and yet it arrived looking just as shapely as it did coming out of the pan. I left most of the cake at said friend’s house, but returned home with a small chunk leftover. This bit also didn’t crumble. Thus I can vouch for Alison’s travel-well assertion. I bet I could take this cake in my backpack on a plane and have relative success! 

Though the title sounds fancy, this cake recipe is extremely simple. It’s a mix dry ingredients, then mix wet ingredients, then combine them and stir in the fruit sort of recipe. The key is to not overmix the dry and wet ingredients. Apparently that’s how a dome forms at the top, and that’s not what you want. 

Once again, I converted this to be gluten free. I was told by several taste testers that this was my most successful GF dessert conversion yet. The cake maintained the appropriate moisture and crumb levels for a pound cake. This brought me great joy. 

The cake is also not super sweet. The raspberries and yogurt add a nice tangy, sour balance to the honey and sugar. I can see this going well with whipped creme fraiche or regular whipped cream. Perhaps next time I’ll really go wild and top it with turbinado sugar before baking. I’ve got a few trips on the books (thank you, vaccine!) that may well include this cake in my backpack.

58 recipes cooked, 167 to go.