Roasted Chicken with Arugula Cream

This dish is such a dinnertime lifesaver. It's a meal for a busy day. It's a meal for a time when you want a solid meat and potatoes experience. It's got a killer dipping sauce that is so addictive that you'll be thinking of other meat dishes to make that will incorporate the arugula cream. It comes straight from food writer and 'cooking goddess', Diana Henry. 

Ms. Henry is one of my personal cooking heroes. She has an exquisite way of choosing dishes to share in her various cook books that go straight to my personal tastes. I believe I've collected every cook book that she has published. That being said, this is one of my favorite recipes from this book !

I like this particular dish for all its flavor, but I also like it because I can prep everything in about ten minutes, set things out to get cooking, set the timer between stages, and walk away to work on other things while the timer does its thing. When the timer goes off, i just pop the next prepped thing in or on and re-set the timer, etc. Dinner kind of takes care of itself, while I sew or read or get photos downloaded or ...

This dish starts with a small roaster. A 4 lb bird works for SB and I. I did a spatcock on this little bird so that I could cut the roasting time down. If you would like to learn the technique, you can look in The Spice Garden's sidebar under 'Chicken' and scroll to a post I did ages ago. Anyway, the chicken gets a spritz of olive oil spray, a salt, pepper, and paprika dusting and is popped into a hot oven - 400 degrees F, to be exact. Set the timer for 25 minutes and move on.

Next, tomatoes on the vine. Use enough for your family. One short sprig worked for Silent Bob and I.  The tomatoes get popped into a small roasting dish, drizzled with just a bit of olive oil and sprinkled with Kosher salt and black pepper. Then, when the timer goes off, they get popped in next to (or on the rack below) the roasting chicken. Set the timer for another 25 minutes and ... you guessed it ... move on. 

Place enough small fingerling potatoes for your family into a large saucepan and top off with water. When the timer goes off, take the tomatoes out of the oven and let them rest in their dish on the counter top. Turn the potato pan on and bring to a boil. Lower the heat a bit, cook the potatoes for 15 minutes and then add fresh green beans that you have tipped and sliced in half. Continue cooking in the now simmering water for another 8 minutes.

After the beans have simmered for 8 minutes, use a slotted spoon to bring them out of the pot and into a deep bowl. Run cold water over them to stop the cooking and keep them bright green. Check that the potatoes are knife tender. If they're perfect, use the slotted spoon to place them on a large platter and cut them in half.  

Check the roasted bird to see if it's perfectly done and the juices are running clear when you poke the thigh. Place the roast on the platter. Arrange the potatoes around it. Drain the green beans and place them around the roast with the potatoes. Gently plop the tomatoes along side everything and tent the platter with foil and a towel, while you make the arugula cream ( I made the arugula cream earlier in the day and let it chill in the fridge).

Arugula Cream

Ingredients:

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1/3 c. sour cream

1 heaping c. fresh arugula leaves

salt and pepper, to taste

a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Place everything in a blender bowl and whiz until you have smooth creamy sauce. Place in a bowl and serve with chicken, fish, steaks, on toast with veggies, etc.

Note: If arugula is too strongly bitter/peppery for you, but you want a bit of the flavor, decrease the amount of arugula and sub in some spinach leaves to make the sauce. 

Serve the roasted chicken and warm veggies with a side bowl of arugulas cream for dipping. Enjoy !