Chicken With Lemon And Ramps Recipes

CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND RAMPS

Steps:

• Dry chicken with paper towels. Cut off and discard wing tips.
• Cut two wedges into each end of the lemon in a cross shape, deep enough to expose the tiniest bit of the fruit. Wrap ramps around lemon, using the grooves of the cross-cut to secure them. Tie on with kitchen twine.
• Rub lemon with about 1/2 teaspoon shortening, and season it well with salt. Stuff lemon in the cavity of the chicken. Truss chicken, and rub with remaining vegetable shortening. Season liberally with salt, then press pepper all over skin. Refrigerate overnight or for up to 24 hours.
• Remove chicken from the refrigerator, and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roast chicken for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and roast for 40 to 45 minutes, until juices run clear when pricked with a knife. Let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH LEMON, RAMPS, AND GREEN OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Fry lemon slices until just beginning to brown, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and reserve oil in pan.
• Season chicken with salt and pepper. Return pan to medium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding the pan, cook chicken, without turning, until skin is nicely browned and crisped, 7-8 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken, skin-side up, to a large roasting pan; repeat with remaining chicken. Reserve skillet (do not wash).
• Arrange reserved lemon slices and ramps around chicken pieces. Transfer roasting pan to oven and cook until chicken is cooked through (it should reach an internal temperature of 165°F), 25-30 minutes. Transfer chicken, lemon slices, and ramps to a serving platter, reserving pan juices.
• Heat reserved skillet over medium; add garlic and shallots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add olives and thyme and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until reduced by about half, 2-3 minutes. Using a spoon, transfer chicken juices from roasting pan to skillet and cook until thickened, 3-5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce around chicken and garnish with fresh parsley.

CHICKEN WITH LEMON-CAPER SAUCE

Steps:

• Mix together salt and flour in a small dish or plastic bag, then coat chicken and shake off excess. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Shake excess flour from chicken, then brown in hot oil until both sides are golden-brown, and the inside has turned white and firm, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
• Remove the chicken, and set aside in a warm place. Pour white wine into the skillet, and allow to boil as you dissolve the cooked bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the lemon juice, and allow to come to a boil, cook for a few minutes until reduced by half.
• Sprinkle the cubed butter into the boiling sauce. Swirl and shake the pan vigorously to dissolve the butter, thus thickening the sauce. The butter must never come to rest, or the sauce will separate and become oily. Once the butter has completely incorporated, remove from heat and stir in capers.
• To serve, pour lemon-caper sauce over the chicken, and serve with a wedge of lemon.

SPLAYED ROAST CHICKEN WITH CARAMELIZED RAMPS

Steps:

• Rub the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. If you have time, do this 2 to 3 hours ahead and refrigerate the bird uncovered. Otherwise, let it rest uncovered at room temperature while oven heats.
• Place a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet in the oven and heat to 500 degrees for 45 minutes. If you salted the chicken in advance, take it out of the fridge so it can warm to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, prep the ramps: trim the hairy bottoms and remove the outer layer of skin. Separate the leaves from the bulbs, rinse both gently, and pat dry. Cut any fat bulbs (wider than a pencil) in half lengthwise. Tear the leaves into large pieces.
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut the skin connecting the legs to the body. Splay the thighs open until you feel the joint pop on each side. Place 2 lemon wedges inside the chicken.
• Carefully transfer chicken, breast-side up, to the hot skillet. Press down on the legs so they rest flat on the bottom of the pan. Drizzle the bird with the oil. Roast for 30 minutes. Toss ramp bulbs (not leaves), garlic and capers into the skillet. Stir to coat them with pan juices. Roast for 5 minutes more, then stir again. Continue cooking until ramps are tender and chicken is no longer pink, 5 to 15 minutes more (for a total cooking time of 40 to 50 minutes).
• Remove chicken from oven and stir ramp leaves into the pan until just wilted. Let chicken rest for 5 minutes, then serve with the pan juices and ramps, garlic and capers, seasoning everything with juice from the remaining lemon wedges, if desired.

ROASTED CHICKEN, RAMPS, AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500°F.
• Trim roots from ramps and slip off outer skin on bulbs if loose. Cut off and reserve leaves, leaving white bulbs attached to slender pink stems.
• Put leaves and bulbs in separate bowls.
• Pat chicken dry. Put in a flameproof large shallow roasting pan, without crowding, and surround with potatoes. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and rub all over to coat evenly. Arrange chicken skin sides up and season with salt and pepper. Roast in upper third of oven 20 minutes.
• Toss bulbs with remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil and season with salt. Scatter bulbs around chicken and roast mixture until breast pieces are just cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer breast pieces to a platter and keep warm. Roast remaining chicken and vegetables 5 minutes more, or until cooked through. Transfer to platter and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. (If crisper skin is desired, broil chicken only, skin sides up, about 2 minutes.)
• Pour off fat from roasting pan and straddle pan across 2 burners. Add wine and deglaze pan by cooking over high heat, scraping up brown bits.
• Boil wine until reduced to about 1/4 cup and add broth. When broth boils, add ramp leaves and stir until wilted and tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove with tongs and add to chicken. Boil pan juices until reduced to about 1/2 cup and pour around chicken.