Best Sweet And Spicy Roast Chicken Melissa Clark Recipes

SWEET & SPICY ROAST CHICKEN WITH CARROTS, DATES & PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Make the marinade: In a medium bowl whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, orange zest, orange juice, olive oil, mustard, honey, red pepper flakes, garlic, thyme, and salt.
• Place the chicken, carrots, onions, and dates in a large sealable plastic bag. Add the marinade and seal shut. Massage to make sure everything is evenly coated with the marinade. Place the bag on a rimmed sheet pan to protect against leakage and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
• Transfer all ingredients from the bag, including the marinade, to a rimmed sheet pan (do not line the pan with foil). Turn the chicken skin side up. Roast until chicken is lightly browned and cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. About halfway through cooking, stir the carrots so that they don't burn around the edges of the pan.
• Turn on broiler (leave pan on middle rack), and cook 1 to 3 minutes more, or until skin is golden brown and crispy. Watch carefully: the honey in the marinade can cause the skin to burn quickly.
• Transfer the chicken, carrots, onions and dates onto a platter, along with the sauce in the pan. Sprinkle the parsley, scallions and pistachio nuts over top and serve.

FENNEL-APPLE SALAD WITH WALNUTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in oil, continuously whisking, until dressing is emulsified. Taste and add more lemon juice and/or salt if needed.
• In a large bowl, toss the dressing with fennel, apple and celery. Fold in fennel fronds or parsley and walnuts. Top with Parmesan just before serving.

ROAST CHICKENS WITH PLUMS

Steps:

• Grate the zest from the lemons and place in a small bowl. Set aside the zested lemons.
• Stir sumac, salt, pepper, cinnamon and allspice into the lemon zest. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and the garlic. The mixture should feel like wet sand. Rub it all over the chickens, including inside the cavity.
• Divide thyme bunch in half and place in the chicken cavities. Place chickens on a roasting rack set over a rimmed baking sheet, and let marinate, uncovered, in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
• When ready to roast, let chickens come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
• In a large roasting pan, toss together plums, shallots, honey, oil, salt, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaf and 2 tablespoons water. Spread out plum mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Place chickens on the rack over the plums in the pan. Roast for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, squeeze 1 tablespoon juice from reserved lemon and mix it with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Drizzle this over the chicken, then continue to roast until the birds are golden-skinned and cooked through, about 30 to 45 minutes longer.
• Let chickens rest, covered lightly with foil, for 10 minutes. Carve and serve with the plums and more thyme for garnish.

SWEET AND SPICY GRILLED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Place chicken breasts between two sheets of parchment or plastic wrap. Using a mallet or rolling pin, pound each to an even thickness of 1/2 inch. Do not make them any thinner or they could dry out.
• In a small bowl, combine sugar, coriander, salt, mustard powder and cayenne. Place chicken breasts in a bowl and rub well with spice mixture. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours. Remove chicken from fridge while you heat the grill.
• Light the grill, building a hot fire, or heat your gas grill to high. Once grill is fully heated, brush breasts lightly with olive oil and place chicken on the grill. Cook until undersides are browned and chicken is about halfway cooked, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip breasts and grill until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes more.
• Transfer chicken to a platter. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard and chives. Whisk in 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Serve chicken with mustard for dipping.

SPICE-RUBBED SPATCHCOCKED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Spatchcock the chicken by using poultry shears or kitchen scissors (or a sharp knife) to cut along one side of the backbone until the chicken opens. If you like you can cut along the other side of the backbone and remove it, or leave it attached to roast with the rest of the bird. Open up the bird and place it so it lies flat, breast side up. Press hard onto the center of the breast until you feel a pop, and the breast lies more or less flat.
• In a small bowl, mix together sugar, salt, chile powder, paprika, mustard powder, oregano, pepper, allspice and bay leaves. Smear the mixture all over the chicken. Lay chicken, skin side up, on a rimmed baking sheet (or plate) and refrigerate uncovered for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. If the chicken isn't on a rimmed baking sheet, transfer it to one. Roast chicken until the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pricked with a fork (an instant-read thermometer plunged into the thickest part of the breast will read 150), 40 to 50 minutes.
• Remove from oven, cover bird with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve with lime or lemon wedges on the side.

MY FAVORITE CHALLAH

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water.
• Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading. (You can also use a mixer with a dough hook for both mixing and kneading.)
• Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Clean out bowl and grease it, then return dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size. Dough may also rise in an oven that has been warmed to 150 degrees then turned off. Punch down dough, cover and let rise again in a warm place for another half-hour.
• To make a 6-braid challah, either straight or circular, take half the dough and form it into 6 balls. With your hands, roll each ball into a strand about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place the 6 in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together. Move the outside right strand over 2 strands. Then take the second strand from the left and move it to the far right. Take the outside left strand and move it over 2. Move second strand from the right over to the far left. Start over with the outside right strand. Continue this until all strands are braided. For a straight loaf, tuck ends underneath. For a circular loaf, twist into a circle, pinching ends together. Make a second loaf the same way. Place braided loaves on a greased cookie sheet with at least 2 inches in between.
• Beat remaining egg and brush it on loaves. Either freeze breads or let rise another hour.
• If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush loaves again. If freezing, remove from freezer 5 hours before baking. Then dip your index finger in the egg wash, then into poppy or sesame seeds and then onto a mound of bread. Continue until bread is decorated with seeds.
• Bake in middle of oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Cool loaves on a rack.