As
an American anthropologist living abroad in London I have been on the
never-ending quest to identify and define distinct elements of
British culture. Though I have lived in London now for four years,
and have adjusted very well by now to both the London and the British
way of life, I am always reminded of the changes whenever I return to
the states to visit, or receive a visit from American friends and
family.
I
have in the past year made the switch in career paths from arts
anthropologist to culinary anthropologist, and have become even more
interested in embarking on a quest to discover truly British food
customs and recipes. What I have enjoyed doing, and continue to do
is recognise these cultural food icons, and then recreate them to
incorporate my American background. I have begun doing so using such
cultural practices afternoon tea, salty Scottish porridge, scones,
and now the Sunday Roast.
In
short, the origins of the 'Sunday roast' are as follows; In medieval
times the village serfs or peasants served the squire for six days a
week. Sundays however were a day of rest, and after the morning
church service the squire would reward them for their hard work
during the week with a meal, often consisting of roasted oxen. The
Sunday Roast was born, and today while no longer oxen, is still a
mainstay in British families and pubs all over the country.
I,
a former vegetarian for nearly 10 years, am determined to master the
art of the perfectly roasted chicken. Roasted chicken for me, given
my Jewish heritage, is an important feature in my cultural
upbringing. Roasted chicken is known to often make its appearance at
the Friday night Shabbat family dinner table. It's bones are used
later to make the stock for matzah ball soup, chicken noodle soup
etc. In this recipe I married the great traditions of both the
British roast and the Jewish roasted chicken, with my love of the
Southwest flavours of the United States. I bring you, Pasilla Chili
Roasted Chicken.
Pasilla
Chilli Roasted Chicken
Serves
6
Ingredients:
2
tbsp Demorara sugar
1
tsp Pasilla chili powder
2-3
tsp olive oil
1x
2kg free range fresh chicken
1
lemon
1
whole onion
salt
and pepper to taste
Method:
Pre-heat
your oven to 170C.
In
a small bowl combine sugar, chili powder and olive oil until you have
made a thick and grainy paste. You can add more olive oil if you
wish, it won't hurt.
Wash
chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. Insert the whole onion and ½
the lemon into the chicken's cavity. Sprinkle the skin of the
chicken with sea salt and rub in. This will help you to create a
crispier chicken skin by helping to drain the moisture out of the
skin.
Generously
cover the chicken in the sugar/chili paste, making sure to coat the
chicken completely by rubbing the paste in with your fingers (my
preference always- I'm a messy cook) or a pastry brush.
Place
the chicken into a roasting pot, large enough that you will be able
cover the pot with a lid half way through the cooking time.
Place
the chicken uncovered into the oven for 45 minutes.
After
the 45 minutes of cooking time is up, cover the chicken with the lid
and cook for another 40 minutes or until the juices from the bird run
clear.
Remove
the bird from the oven and rest for a minimum of 10-15 minutes.
Enjoy
with your favorite accompaniments and later on as leftovers
I like the new white background :)
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