Ed Giobbis Chicken In Clay Recipes

ED GIOBBI'S CHICKEN IN CLAY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Sprinkle the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Set the giblets aside.
• Cut the garlic lengthwise into eight slivers. Insert four slivers under the skin that covers the breast of the chicken. Put one-third of the rosemary under the skin.
• Put the remaining four slivers of garlic into the cavity of the chicken. Put another one-third of the rosemary into the cavity.
• Rub the outside of the chicken with the remaining rosemary.
• Fold the wing tips under the chicken. Truss the chicken as neatly and compactly as possible with string.
• Lay out a large rectangle of aluminum foil on a flat surface. Place the chicken in the center. Wrap the chicken as compactly as possible inside the foil.
• Gather together a large handful of the clay. Flatten this handful to a thickness of about one inch and apply it to one outside section of the foil-wrapped chicken. Place another flattened handful of clay slightly overlapping and press to seal the two pieces together. Continue applying handfuls of clay, pressing as you work, until the chicken is completely and compactly covered with clay. Smooth the clay over as you work. You may bake the chicken at this point or you may ''sculpt'' the product with additional pieces of clay, shaping it to resemble a whole bird with beak, feet, eyes, tail feathers and so on.
• Place in the oven and bake 45 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees. As the clay bakes it may develop cracks. As these are noticed, seal the cracks by smearing on a little more clay.
• Continue baking the chicken for 30 minutes. If desired, you may then paint the clay with poster paint or watercolors.
• Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a skillet and add the gizzard. Cook, turning often, about five minutes. Add the liver and heart and continue cooking about five minutes longer, turning the pieces often. Set aside.
• Heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil in a skillet and add the chopped shallots. Cook briefly, stirring, and add the chopped mushrooms. Cook, stirring, about four minutes.
• Cut away and discard the tough membrane of the gizzard. Cut the gizzard into small pieces and add it to the mushrooms. Add salt and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring often, until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates. Add the sherry. Chop the liver and heart into small cubes and add to the mushroom mixture. Stir in the parsley. Cover and cook about three minutes.
• Crack the clay and remove the chicken. Take it out of the foil. Add the liquid in the foil to the mushroom mixture and simmer about two minutes. Carve the chicken and serve with the mushroom sauce.

GIOBBI'S PRIMAVERA PASTA

Steps:

• For the Tomato Salad/Sauce: Cut the tomatoes in 1/2 crosswise, parallel to the stems, and gently press the seeds out. Cut the flesh into 1/2-inch pieces, and put them in a bowl large enough to hold the finished dish. Add the remaining salad ingredients and toss well.
• For the Pasta: Salt the water and bring to a boil. Add the pasta, stir well, bring back to a boil, and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, more or less, depending on how firm you like your pasta. Add a 6-ounce ladle of the hot pasta water to the tomato salad. Drain the pasta in a colander, and add it immediately to the tomato salad. Toss thoroughly, and divide the pasta among 4 soup plates. Sprinkle generously with the cheese, and serve immediately.

CHICKEN CANZANESE

Steps:

• 1. Add 3 tablespoons kosher salt or coarse sea salt to a large bowl. Dissolve in about 1/2 cup warm water. Lay the chicken pieces in the bowl and cover with cold water (about 4 cups). Let stand for about 1 hour. Drain and pat dry.
• 2. Arrange the chicken pieces in one layer in a skillet and add the sage, bay leaves, garlic, cloves, rosemary, peppercorns, and red pepper. Cut the prosciutto into small cubes and sprinkle it over the chicken. Add the wine and water. Do not add salt, since the prosciutto will season the dish. Cover and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes.
• 3. Remove the chicken to a plate and reduce the cooking juices until concentrated and a little syrupy-taste it to see. Serve the chicken in shallow bowls with the juices (and slivered garlic and prosciutto) spooned on top. Mop up juices with country bread.
• Cooking notes:
• A great chicken dish deserves (and depends on) a great chicken-buy the highest-quality bird you can find. The best place to look is a farmers' market.
• The chicken never browns, so if presentation is your thing, avert your eyes-or simply pull the meat from the bones and make a warm salad with escarole, the broth, and prosciutto. Or use the meat and sauce to make a very simple pasta dish. Whatever you do, be careful not to overcook the chicken. And serve it right after cooking, when its aromatics are most intense.
• The original recipe said it serves 4, but when I made the dish for my mother and me, we polished off the whole thing. Only count on it serving 4 if you're making a bunch of side dishes.
• It may seem strange to buy expensive prosciutto and cut it into cubes, but don't skimp on the quality of prosciutto. I did once and was punished with a salty sauce. If you can only get indifferent prosciutto, add less of it.
• Readers:
• "I remember that I used the recipe the first time because chicken was affordable for a crowd and the ingredients then seemed different but not weird. This recipe as I read and reread it over the years pushed me to learn more about cooking. Why not brown the chicken pieces? (Giobbi does not.) What about putting it all together and sticking it in the oven? What if I chopped the seasonings and put them in the cavity and under the skin of a roasting chicken and then, well, roasted it? The recipe with its time-proven flavors (back to the Renaissance at least?) has never failed.
• "For me, this is one of those recipes that permutes endlessly as the seasons, the occasion, or the cook's mood changes. Sometimes (often) I do brown the chicken, sometimes use pancetta instead of prosciutto, sometimes add a little chopped tomato, sometimes introduce porcini mushrooms. If the company at dinner have dietary restrictions, oil-cured black olives can stand in for the pork. I have tried it with boneless chicken breasts only-satisfactory-and with guinea hen-excellent."
• From Jonatha Ceely, e-mail MAY 18, 1969: "CHICKEN BIG," BY CRAIG CLAIBORNE. RECIPE BY ED GIOBBI, WHO ADAPTED IT FROM A FAMILY FRIEND IN ITALY. -1969

ED GIOBBI'S DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine three-quarter cup of the olive oil, the safflower oil, garlic and pine nuts in the container of a food processor or electric blender. Blend well.
• Add the basil, mint, pepper and salt. Blend.
• Pour the mixture into a one-quart jar and pour the remaining oil on top. This keeps well in the refrigerator.

ED GIOBBI'S FRESH MINT SAUCE

Steps:

• Purée all the ingredients in the food processor, using just a pinch of salt. Taste, and add more salt and pepper to your liking. Process again until the sauce is the consistency of heavy cream.