Eigensinn Chicken on the Spit with Wild Grape Sage Sauce
Adapt this recipe for the grill by butterflying the whole chicken and cooking 30 minutes each side, beginning breast side down, until the skin is golden and the juices run clear.
1 small chicken
1 Tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Leaves from 2 sprigs sage, finely chopped
Leaves from 1 sprig thyme, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Wild Grape Sage Sauce
Bones from 1 chicken
2 Tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
3 onions
2 carrots
1/2 stalk celery
1 1/4 cups (310 mL) Gamay Noir
6 cups (1.5 L) chicken stock
1 garlic clove
15 black peppercorns
10 juniper berries
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp (2 mL) chopped sage, plus more for garnish
5 oz (150 g) wild grapes
1/3 cup (80 mL) maple syrup
A few hours before grilling, rub chicken with olive oil, garlic, sage, thyme, and salt and pepper. Refrigerate until grilling fire is ready. Build a fire with apple wood and, when the wood turns to coals, push chicken onto a rotisserie spit and roast, adding pieces of wild grape vines to the fire bit by bit as you turn the spit. Maintain a slow fire throughout roasting, about 1 hour. Chicken is ready when skin looks golden and juices run clear. Remove from fire and let sit 10 minutes before carving.
To make the sauce, preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Chop chicken bones into walnut-sized pieces and place in shallow, ovenproof pan with olive oil. Roast until bones begin to brown, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add onions, carrots, and celery and continue roasting until golden brown. Remove pan from oven and place over high heat. Add Gamay Noir and deglaze. Add chicken stock and bring to boil, skimming off fat. In mortar and pestle, crush together garlic clove, peppercorns, juniper berries, and bay leaf. Add to pan along with sage. Cook slowly for about 1 hour. Pour sauce through fine sieve into clean saucepan and return to medium-high heat to reduce liquid until thickened, about 5 minutes.
In another saucepan, combine wild grapes and maple syrup, cooking over medium heat until a glazed consistency develops, about 5 minutes. Place mixture in blender and blend until smooth, then strain through cheesecloth. Add grape pure to chicken sauce at the last moment, along with chopped fresh sage leaves. Serves 4.
source: "Eigensinn Farm", alive #310, August 2008
Eigensinn Chicken on the Spit with Wild Grape Sage Sauce
Directions
READ THIS NEXT
SEE MORE »
Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprout Tempeh Stir-Fry
This Asian-inspired stir-fry takes full advantage of the crunch Brussels sprouts achieve when they’re heated quickly. The sweet-and-sour sauce delivers a tangy edge, and tempeh offers plant-based protein and a blast of umami. If you want meat in the dish, you can replace tempeh with ground pork. Ready, set, go Stir-frying is a cooking method that thrives on speed. That means you want to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go into the pan. That also means no chopping on the fly.
Rutabaga Chard Cakes with Smokey Cashew Cream
Two fall stalwarts—rutabaga and Swiss chard—team up to bring seasonal flavour to these baked savoury cakes. A topping of velvety cashew cream adds a little extra spark. Rutabaga burgers, anyone? You can also prepare these cakes burger-style in a skillet. Simply form rutabaga and chard mixture into burger-sized patties and cook in greased skillet over medium-high, until golden brown on both sides.
Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowl with Maple Fall Fruit
If you’re feeling a bit burnt out when it comes to your typical morning repast, consider pivoting to this bowl of nutrition and quintessential fall flavours. It might just be the cozy sweater of the breakfast world. If you need extra energy to power your day, you can scatter on some crunchy granola. The sweet potato mixture can be made a day or two in advance and reheated in the microwave before serving. Pick of the crops For sautéing purposes, you want to use pears that keep their shape when heated. Bosc and Anjou are two good options. Fuji, Cortland, Honeycrisp, and Empire are excellent apple choices for heating in the skillet, as they won’t turn too mushy.
Lentil and Shiitake Mushroom Potato Bake
A plant-based spinoff of shepherd’s pie makes an ideal use for those surplus starches. Flavour-rich shiitake mushrooms and saucy lentils meet creamy potatoes in a protein-filled and satisfying comfort meal packed with nutrition and perfect for any cool-weather dinner. Mash it up Do you have other kinds of leftover mash on hand? Any mash befits the top of this comfort food. Try substituting potatoes with mashed sweet potatoes or yams. For lower carb options, try celeriac or cauliflower mash!