Roast Chicken with Pancetta and Olives from Gourmet
My heart did a little happy dance when I first laid eyes on the January 2009 issue of Gourmet Magazine. It was the Italian-American issue, with a big, beautiful bowl of spaghetti and meatballs on the cover. Being an Italian-American myself, I was naturally and understandably drawn to it. Many of the fondest memories of my childhood revolve around the sights, sounds and smells emanating from my Nonna’s tiny kitchen. Nonna has long since passed from this world, but I can still see her standing at her stove, stirring her pots of Sunday gravy and lovingly tending her herb-laden roasted chickens.
The issue is chock full of poignant reflections and mouthwatering recipes. It is a virtual treasure trove for anyone interested in Italian food and cooking. My copy is already dog-eared and splattered with olive oil (extra-virgin, of course)!
When I first saw Tony Oltranti’s recipe for Roast Chicken with Pancetta and Olives, I knew that it would be one of the first to try. While he often prepares this dish using rabbit, it is also beautifully suited to chicken. The chicken is bathed in white wine and roasted in a very hot oven with pancetta, olives and lots of garlic. The result is a bird boasting unbelievably tender and juicy meat beneath a super crispy skin.
This dish is easy to prepare and doesn’t take all day. I prepared it for a weeknight dinner and took my first delicious bite after little more than an hour. I used chicken thighs instead of whole, cut up chickens, because we’re a dark meat kind of family. The chicken turns out so moist, I don’t think it matters what cuts you use.
Roast Chicken with Pancetta and Olives
adapted from Tony Oltranti via Gourmet Magazine, January, 2009
Ingredients:
2 chickens (about 3 1/2 pounds each), backbones cut out and each chicken cut into 12 pieces (see cooks’ note, below)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1-1/2 tablespoons chopped thyme
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 (1/4-inch-thick) slices pancetta, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup dry white wine
24 oil-cured black olives
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.
Toss chicken with oil, thyme, rosemary, sea salt, red-pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon pepper, rubbing mixture into chicken.
Arrange chicken, skin side up, in 1 layer in a 17-by 11-inch 4-sided sheet pan. Scatter garlic and pancetta on top and roast until chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes.
Drizzle wine over chicken and roast 8 minutes more.
Scatter olives over chicken and roast until skin is golden brown and chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes.
Cooks’ note: To cut a chicken into 12 pieces, remove wings and cut each breast half into 3 pieces, then separate drumsticks and thighs. Backbones can be used to make chicken stock.
