What's for dinner: Roast chicken with goat cheese, chile and vegetables
Posted by 3Dsound at Monday, May 26, 2008 9:06 AM and is filed under Food,draggin' the line,Chile,3d's daughter,Chicken,What's for dinner,Recipe 
8th in a food series
Draggin' the line
When I first started making this chicken, I added basil to the goat cheese. That tastes pretty good, and you can easily substitute basil for the chile, oregano and cumin in the recipe below. But adding chile to the cheese turns the chicken and vegetables a reddish color, which I like. And the flavors of chile and oregano complements the cheese in a surprisingly less assertive way than basil does.
Years ago, my daughter drew the picture of the roast chicken reproduced to the left. (Actually, her picture is of roast chicken with basil, not chile... but on the internet, no one needs to hear you waffle.)
Ingredients
4 pound natural whole fryer chicken ($1.69 per pound from Whole Foods)
4 ounce semi-soft goat milk cheese (chèvre) ($4.99 per 4-ounce package)
2-3 dried red chile pods (chile de ristra, 27 chile pods per package, $2.89)
8 six-inch stems fresh oregano ($2.79 per package), leaves only
½ teaspoon cumin
½ pound or more mini carrots ($1.99 per 1-pound package)
4 stalk celery ($1.49 per pound), cut into 3-inch sticks
2 medium-size red onions ($1.99 per bag of five onions), quartered
5 or more new potatoes ($1.43 per pound), halved
3 tablespoon olive oil
salt and black pepper, to taste
Procedure
Preheat oven to 350°F. Put goat cheese in a bowl, and allow cheese to warm to room temperature.
Bring a couple of cups of water to a boil in a small sauce pan. Turn off burner, and add chile pods to the hot water. Cover the pan, and let chiles soak for 15-20 minutes, until pods are supple.
Remove pods from water, de-seed, and roughly cut into ½-inch pieces. Purée the chile, oregano leaves and cumin in a spice mill. Add mixture to goat cheese, and use a fork to thoroughly incorporate. Set aside.
Clean the chicken under the faucet. Use the running water to gently separate the skin of the chicken from the body. With your fingers , put cheese mixture under skin of chicken to cover the entire breast, thighs and legs. Put the chicken in a Dutch Oven.
Meanwhile, pour olive oil into a large bowl. Add salt and pepper, and whisk. Add vegetables to the bowl, and coat with the oil.
Stuff the chicken with the vegetables. Pack remaining vegetables around the chicken. Roast for 2½ hours. Remove from oven. Let rest ten minutes before serving.
What's for dinner? See the series.
Honestly, I'm coming over for dinner. I think this summer that I'm gonna make all of these dishes you have posted.
But you know - I'm also craving a music post, after listening/watching Bo Diddley on youtube tonight.
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