Cook and Drink

The first time we had chicken prepared this way was in a lovely restaurant in Vence, France. The restaurant was called Auberge des Seigneurs and offered a wide range of beautiful dishes from the days of King François I, such as blue trout, tian, chicken and lamb cooked on a spit before an open fire in the dining room. Ah, Madame Rodi, those culinary evenings, the wines from the Domaine de Rimauresq, and your infinite hospitality, dear memories.
The chicken was a special treat. It was juicy, tasty and rich. The chicken was rubbed on the inside with a very intense paste. A wonderful idea because the powerful rub flavoured the whole chicken, not just the outside. The result was aromatic, flavourful and light.
Since we don’t have a spit with an open fire at home, we had to find another way of roasting our chicken to perfection. An oven dish? A chicken sitter?
We think the best way to roast your chicken is using a baking rack over a roasting pan filled with water. The rack will guarantee an evenly cooked and golden chicken, the water helps keeping the meat juicy and the skin crispy.
We served our chicken with slow cooked fennel. 

Wine Pairing

We enjoyed a glass of red wine made with cabernet sauvignon grapes from the Pays D’Oc In France, produced by Abbotts & Delaunay. The wine is ruby red, it has aromas of dark fruit and the taste is long and velvety. Its fruitiness combines beautifully with the aromatic chicken.
In general we suggest an intense, fruity, easy to drink red wine.

What You Need

• For the Rub
  • 2 twigs of Rosemary
  • 5 twigs of Thyme
  • 3 leaves of Sage
  • Salt
  • Oil
• Organic Chicken
• Black Pepper
• For the Fennel
  • 1 Fennel
  • Olive Oil
  • Pastis (optional)

What You Do

1. Finely chop rosemary, thyme and sage
2. Transfer to a mortar, add a teaspoon of salt and make into a paste. It must be very aromatic and salty
3. Add some oil, just to make it a bit smoother
4. Rub the inside of the chicken
5. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine
6. Transfer the chicken to the refrigerator and allow to rest for a few hours (at least two)
7. Preheat your oven to 350 °F or 180 °C (with fan)
8. Pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper
9. Add a layer of water to the roasting pan
10. Cook until golden and done. The internal temperature should be 165 °F or 75 °C. In general, a chicken needs 30 minutes per 500 grams
11. Allow to rest for 5 – 10 minutes
12. Serve on a warm plate with black pepper (and slow cooked fennel)

PS

• Slice the fennel, add olive oil to a pan, add the fennel, put the lid on the pan and leave on low heat for an hour or so. Stir and check every 15 minutes. Add a splash of pastis to enhance the taste.
• Normally we use the leftovers to make chicken stock. Due to the intensity of the rub this stock will be okay if you want to make Mediterranean flavoured soups, for instance one with zucchini.