Herby Spatchcocked Chicken With Crisp Chickpeas Wild Garlic Labneh Recipes

HERBY SPATCHCOCKED CHICKEN WITH CRISP CHICKPEAS & WILD GARLIC LABNEH

Steps:

• First, make the labneh. Mix the yogurt with a pinch of salt. Line a sieve with muslin or a clean J-cloth and rest over a deep bowl. Spoon in the yogurt, cover, and put in the fridge to strain for about 4 hrs. You'll be left with a firmer, soft cheese-like substance - this is your labneh.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. To spatchcock the chicken, put it on a chopping board, breast-side down, with its legs pointing towards you. Use sharp scissors to carefully cut out the backbone and parson's nose in one piece (you can freeze them to use in stock). Turn the chicken over and press on the breastbone to flatten it - you should feel it breaking.
• Mash the butter with the tarragon and wild garlic and season. Use your fingers to ease the skin from the breast of the chicken and spread the butter over the breast under the skin. Season the bird and rub with any remaining butter and a little olive oil. Dust with the za'atar.
• In a roasting tin, combine the lemon slices, garlic, red onions,chickpeas and bay leaves with 1 tbsp olive oil. Season and sit the bird on top. Roast for 45-50 mins, basting with the juices a couple of times, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 75C, or the juices run clear and theflesh is opaque. Remove from the oven and rest for at least 15 mins.
• Turn the labneh out into a bowl. In a mini chopper or small blender, blitz the wild garlic with the olive oil and lemon juice, then pour this on top of the labneh. Carve the chicken once rested and divide between plates with the wild garlic labneh and chickpeas.

HERB-GARLIC BUTTER SPATCHCOCKED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Line 15 x 10 x 1-inch pan with foil.
• Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Place chicken, breast side down, on cutting board. Using heavy-duty kitchen scissors or poultry shears, cut closely along one side of backbone from thigh end to neck. Repeat on other side. Remove backbone; save for making Chicken and Broth or Roasted Chicken and Broth or discard. Turn chicken over; flatten breast area by pressing firmly with heel of hand. Place chicken, breast side up, in pan. Tuck wings under breast.
• In small bowl, beat remaining ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Starting at leg end of chicken, gently separate skin (do not peel back) from chicken breast using fingers, being careful not to tear or puncture skin. Rub half of butter mixture under skin to cover entire breast area; gently replace skin. Rub remaining butter mixture on outside of chicken.
• Roast uncovered 30 minutes. Brush chicken with pan juices. Roast 30 to 35 minutes longer or until thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast reads at least 165°F. Serve chicken with pan juices, if desired.

GARLIC AND HERB SPATCHCOCK GRILLED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Prepare a grill for medium-high heat with both direct and indirect heat zones, preferably with hardwood or hardwood charcoal. Separate leaves from 5 rosemary sprigs, then coarsely chop leaves. Tie remaining sprigs together with kitchen twine to form a brush. Combine garlic and oil in a measuring cup.
• Place chicken breast side down on work surface. Spatchcock chicken by cutting along both sides of backbone with kitchen shears; reserve backbone for stock. Turn chicken over, breast side up, and splay open. Press down on breastbone with palms until you hear it crack and chicken is as flat as possible. Tuck the wings behind the breasts, then tuck in the legs so the bottoms of the drumsticks are pointed away from the body and chicken is as flat as possible.
• Brush all sides of both pieces of chicken with the garlic-oil using rosemary brush. Sprinkle all sides with chopped rosemary leaves, salt, and pepper.
• Grill both pieces of chicken, skin side down, over direct heat, until skin is golden brown, crispy, and lightly charred, about 5 minutes. Flip both pieces of chicken over, transfer to indirect heat, and baste with rosemary brush dipped in garlic-oil.
• Continue to grill chicken, basting occasionally, until skin is golden brown, juices run clear, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 165°F, 45-60 minutes for whole chicken and 25-35 minutes for chicken breast. Let chicken stand at least 10 minutes before carving. Arrange chicken on a serving platter and serve with chimichurri sauce alongside.

SPATCHCOCKED CHICKEN WITH CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Season chicken with coarse salt and ground pepper and place, breast side up, in a pan. Roast 15 minutes. Remove from oven and add chickpeas to pan.
• Roast chicken until juices run clear when pierced between breast and leg (an instant-read thermometer should read 165 degrees when inserted in thickest part of a thigh, avoiding bone), about 15 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes. Drizzle with fresh lime juice and sprinkle with fresh cilantro leaves before carving.

SPATCHCOCK CHICKEN WITH LEEKS, CARROTS AND CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Wash the leeks thoroughly to remove any dirt and transfer to a large bowl. Add the carrots, chickpeas and 2 tablespoons of the herbes de Provence. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.
• To spatchcock the chicken, use strong kitchen shears or poultry shears and cut down both sides of the backbone. Pull out the backbone, turn the chicken over and press down on the breast to flatten it out to one thickness.
• Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the baking sheet. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and the remaining 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence.
• Roast in the oven until the chicken skin is golden brown and crisp and a thermometer inserted into a thigh registers 165 degrees F, 45 to 55 minutes.
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables to a large saute pan and add the spinach and mustard. Stir to combine, letting the residual heat from the vegetables wilt the spinach. If desired, cook the spinach further on the stovetop.
• Carve the chicken and serve with the vegetables.