Spatchcocked Roast Chicken With Dates & Artichoke Hearts

Easter is going to feel different this year. There will be no epic gathering of relatives around a lamb at my aunt and uncle’s in Vermont . There will be no intimate reunion of siblings at my parents’ house in Connecticut. And alas, there will be no punch .

Am I sounding very glum? Sorry! I’m just finding it a little hard to get into the holiday spirit this year, and although I have a small spiral ham in the freezer that I might thaw for Easter dinner, I’m leaning towards making this spatchcocked roast chicken with dates and artichoke hearts.

It’s common this time of year to see recipes starring artichokes, which always sound and look so appealing, but which I just can’t get myself to make. I find prepping artichokes to be such a task, something I attempt once every few years, then swear off “forever.”

But what I can get myself to do is open a box of Trader Joe’s grilled artichoke hearts, which I discovered last fall and which I love in this one-pot lemon-orzo chicken .

Here, I’ve paired them with dates and onions, and I’ve roasted the chicken spatchcock style, using a favorite no-fuss Dorie Greenspan recipe as a guide . There is no sautéing or browning of anything first. Everything enters the pan at once, and 45 minutes later, it’s done: chicken skin bronzy, meat juicy, plentiful sauce pooling all around.

Dorie’s recipe calls for za’atar, which would work well here, too, but I’ve recently been loving Aleppo pepper . Friends, have you used Aleppo pepper? It has such a nice, smoky flavor with a slight kick, too. It tints both the bird and the sauce the loveliest ruddy hue.

Cliché as it sounds, the result of this recipe is so much greater than the sum of its parts. The onions, dates, and artichoke hearts combine with olive oil, white wine, and water to make such a flavorful sauce, tasting sweet, earthy, and briny all at once. The abundant sauce demands lots of bread . A lightly dressed green salad is all it needs.

Pantry staples + minimal prep? Something to boost my spirits! Wishing you all cheer and happiness during this holiday season!

PS: If you are making a ham on Sunday, I can’t recommend my grandmother’s mustard sauce enough. { New video in post .}

Here’s the play-by-play: Gather your ingredients.

Place the sliced onion, chopped dates, and artichoke hearts in an oven-safe skillet or roasting pan. Toss with olive oil, white wine, and water. Season with salt and pepper.

Spatchcock the chicken:

Season all over with salt, pepper, and Aleppo pepper, if you can find it. Transfer to a 425ºF oven for 45 minutes or until it’s …

… done!

You can serve it straight from the pot or transfer to a serving platter:

Description

Notes:

• Artichoke hearts: If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, look for their grilled artichoke hearts. They come in a box, and they live in the dry-foods aisle (as opposed to the refrigerator aisle). They are delicious. They are on the small side, so I don’t bother cutting them, though I do drain the oil. Once I made this and used the entire package, oil and all, and the flavor was a little overpowering and slightly artificial as well. If the artichokes you are using are on the large side, halve or quarter them.

• Aleppo pepper is a recent addition to my pantry. It has such a nice smoky flavor as well as a little bit of heat. If you can’t find it or don’t have it on hand, you can use a combination of smoked paprika and a pinch of cayenne, or you can simply omit it and use freshly cracked pepper exclusively. Za’atar would be nice here, too.

• 2 small or 1 large onion, thinly sliced

• 4 dates, pitted and coarsely chopped

• 10 oz . artichoke hearts, drained, see notes above

• kosher salt

• freshly cracked pepper

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup white wine

• 1 chicken, roughly 3 pounds, backbone removed with scissors, see video

• Aleppo pepper, optional, see notes above

• 2 tablespoons melted butter

1. Heat the oven to 450ºF.
2. In a small roasting pan (9×13-inches or similar) or large oven safe skillet — I use this 5-qt braiser — place the onions, dates, and drained artichoke hearts (coarsely chopped if large). Season with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil, white wine, and 1/2 cup water. Toss gently to combine.
3. Place the chicken skin side down into the skillet and season the underside all over with salt and pepper to taste. Flip the chicken and season the skin side all over with salt and pepper to taste. If you are using Aleppo pepper, sprinkle it evenly over top. Brush the 2 tablespoons of melted butter over top.
4. Transfer pan to the oven, reduce heat to 425ºF, and cook for 45 minutes or until done—the time will depend on your bird. The chicken should be golden brown and the juices should run clear when the thigh is pricked. An instant read thermometer should register 165ºF. Transfer the bird to a carving board to rest for at least 10 minutes for cutting and serving.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Category: Chicken
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

Description

Notes:

• Artichoke hearts: If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, look for their grilled artichoke hearts. They come in a box, and they live in the dry-foods aisle (as opposed to the refrigerator aisle). They are delicious. They are on the small side, so I don’t bother cutting them, though I do drain the oil. Once I made this and used the entire package, oil and all, and the flavor was a little overpowering and slightly artificial as well. If the artichokes you are using are on the large side, halve or quarter them.

• Aleppo pepper is a recent addition to my pantry. It has such a nice smoky flavor as well as a little bit of heat. If you can’t find it or don’t have it on hand, you can use a combination of smoked paprika and a pinch of cayenne, or you can simply omit it and use freshly cracked pepper exclusively. Za’atar would be nice here, too.

• 2 small or 1 large onion, thinly sliced

• 4 dates, pitted and coarsely chopped

• 10 oz . artichoke hearts, drained, see notes above

• kosher salt

• freshly cracked pepper

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup white wine

• 1 chicken, roughly 3 pounds, backbone removed with scissors, see video

• Aleppo pepper, optional, see notes above

• 2 tablespoons melted butter

1. Heat the oven to 450ºF.
2. In a small roasting pan (9×13-inches or similar) or large oven safe skillet — I use this 5-qt braiser — place the onions, dates, and drained artichoke hearts (coarsely chopped if large). Season with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil, white wine, and 1/2 cup water. Toss gently to combine.
3. Place the chicken skin side down into the skillet and season the underside all over with salt and pepper to taste. Flip the chicken and season the skin side all over with salt and pepper to taste. If you are using Aleppo pepper, sprinkle it evenly over top. Brush the 2 tablespoons of melted butter over top.
4. Transfer pan to the oven, reduce heat to 425ºF, and cook for 45 minutes or until done—the time will depend on your bird. The chicken should be golden brown and the juices should run clear when the thigh is pricked. An instant read thermometer should register 165ºF. Transfer the bird to a carving board to rest for at least 10 minutes for cutting and serving.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Category: Chicken
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2020/04/09/spatchcocked-roast-chicken-with-dates-artichoke-hearts/

Last weekend, I found myself rummaging through my pantry and came across a stockpile of Asian noodles: dried lo mein, udon, soba, ramen, dangmyeon , and a few packs of wide rice noodles.

Upon seeing the wide rice noodle, I immediately found myself dreaming about rad na, a favorite Thai dish served at The Continental, a restaurant around the corner from my first apartment in Philadelphia. Rad na is a stir fry, typically made with fresh rice noodles, meat, seafood, or tofu, and heaps of bean sprouts. At Continental, it’s served over shredded Romaine.

I found the combination of the warm, sauce-slicked noodles tangled with fresh bursts of bean sprouts and crisp, cool Romaine to be irresistible and couldn’t go more than a few weeks without ordering a bowl of it.

I even learned to make it at home (and wrote about it here! ), after spotting the recipe for it in Aliza Green’s Starting with Ingredients . This was in 2006, while still living in Philadelphia, when I could zoom on my bike to the Asian market and return in no time with slabs of fresh rice noodles, mountains of bean sprouts, and any “exotic” ingredient from dried shrimp to fermented black bean paste. ( What a dream! )

Today’s circumstances would call for some changes. Dried rice noodles would replace fresh, and the rad na sauce, which calls for oyster sauce, would need some altering. The last time I used oyster sauce I was disappointed with the flavor it imparted, and when I looked at its ingredient list, a mix of sugar, flavor enhancers, yeast extracts, oyster extracts, colors, and preservatives, it was no wonder.

A bit of googling gave me the courage to simply use a smaller amount of soy sauce in its place. And while perhaps some nuances of flavor were lost with this substitution, I didn’t find myself missing anything. Between the fish sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and brown sugar along with toasted cashews, egg, scallions, and bean sprouts, there is plenty of flavor and texture here to make it as irresistible as ever.

A Few Notes:

• Mise en place: The total cooking time for this dish is about 1 minute, so it’s important to have your ingredients all prepped: scallions sliced, nuts toasted and chopped, egg cooked and chopped, etc.
• Noodles: I really love the wide dried rice noodles (10 mm) if you can find them. Asian markets carry them. I just ordered a package of these . I’ll keep you posted on how they work out.
• Bean Sprouts : I was thrilled to find them at Shop Rite, because they add the loveliest crunch/texture to this dish. If you can’t find bean sprouts, something like finely chopped endive or Savoy cabbage might offer a similar crunch.
• Egg: If you are comfortable scrambling the egg directly into the stir fry of noodles (or in the same pan, with the noodles pushed off to the side), go for it. I never love my results (poor technique on my part!) with this method do I do one of two things: Joanne Chang’s water bath baked eggs: I have been in the habit of making the Joanne Chang water bath baked eggs nearly weekly for about a month now. It is so nice to have a slab of egg on hand not only for egg sandwiches (see Instagram video here) , but also for dishes like this stir fry, when you need a little protein. Find Joanne’s recipe online . Crêpe-like omelet : Another nice method, which is outlined in the recipe, is to simply beat two eggs, and to cook them as you would a crêpe in a large, non-stick pan over low heat, swirling to create a very thin egg “pancake” Roll this into a coil and slice it into thin ribbons. See video below:

Here’s the play-by-play: Gather your ingredients.

Make a simple sauce of brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, and fish sauce:

Prep your ingredients: slice the Romaine and scallion; chop the cashews or peanuts, slice or cube the egg.

Boil dried rice noodle for 4 – 6 minutes. Drain.

Heat a wok with some oil, add the chili flakes, then the noodles, then the sauce, then everything else. Cook for about a minute. This is definitely a recipe where mise en place is important.

Dump your noodle mixture over the chopped Romaine.

Toss to combine. Serve immediately, passing more hot sauce on the side, if you wish.

Description

Adapted from Aliza Green’s Starting with Ingredients, this variation replaces the 6 tablespoons of oyster sauce with 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and 3 tablespoons of water. I’m also using brown sugar in place of white. If you are sensitive to salt, consider using low-sodium soy salt.

Notes:

• Mise en place: The total cooking time for this dish is about 1 minute, so it’s important to have your ingredients all prepped: scallions sliced, nuts toasted and chopped, egg cooked and chopped, etc.

• Noodles: I really love wide dried rice noodles (10 mm) if you can find them. Asian markets carry them. I just ordered a package of these . I’ll keep you posted on how they work out.

• Egg: If you are comfortable scrambling the egg directly into the stir fry of noodles (or in the same pan, with the noodles pushed off to the side), go for it. I never love my results (poor technique on my part!) with this method do I do one of two things: Joanne Change’s water bath baked eggs: I have been in the habit of making the Joanne Chang water bath baked eggs nearly weekly for about a month now. It is so nice to have a slab of egg on hand not only for egg sandwiches (see Instagram video here) , but also for dishes like this stir fry, when you need a little protein. Find Joanne’s recipe online . Crepe-like omelet : Another nice method, which is outlined in the recipe (and at the end of the video), is to simply beat two eggs, and to cook them as you would a crepe in a large, non-stick pan over low heat, swirling to create a very thin egg “pancake” Roll this into a coil and slice it into thin ribbons.

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten, see notes above

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 3 tablespoons fish sauce

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

• 3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

• 1 head romaine

• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more if you like heat)

• 1 bunch (4-6) scallions, thinly sliced on the bias (if you wish)

• 1/2 pound fresh mung bean sprouts

• 1 cup roasted cashew or peanuts, roughly chopped

• 8 -oz dried wide rice noodles, see notes above

• 2 tablespoons neutral oil

• hot sauce, for serving, optional

1. Place a large pot of water on to boil.
2. If you are making the egg crepe/omelet , heat a large (11-inches) nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon neutral oil. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and pour into the center of the pool of oil. Swirl pan so that eggs coat the pan in as thin a layer as the pan will allow. Turn heat to low. Cook 20-30 seconds. The top may not look entirely cooked. Turn off the heat. Roll the egg pancake into a coil and transfer to a board. Thinly slice into ribbons. Set aside. ( Video guidance here. )
3. Make the rad na sauce: Combine the soy sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Set aside near your cooktop.
4. Prep the remaining ingredients. Slice the Romaine into 1/2-inch pieces, and transfer to a large bowl. Arrange everything else in small bowls near your cooktop: the pepper flakes, scallions, bean sprouts, nuts, eggs.
5. Boil the dried rice noodles for 4 to 6 minutes (check your package for timing, as each will be different). Taste a noodle for doneness. When done, drain. Do not rinse.
6. Heat a skillet or wok over high heat. Add the oil and the pepper flakes, followed immediately by the noodles — be careful adding the noodles as water clinging to them will spatter. Use tongs to quickly coat the noodles in the oil; then add the sauce, and use tongs again to coat them in the sauce. Add everything else: the bean sprouts, scallions, egg, and nuts, and toss to combine. Cook for about a minute total; then pour everything over the Romaine. Toss gently to combine. Serve immediately, passing more hot sauce on the side, if you wish.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop, Wok
• Cuisine: Thai