Slow-Roasted Oregano Chicken with Buttered Tomatoes
There are about a million ways to roast a chicken, and someone will always tell you that theirs is the best way. Here is my truth: If you smear a good, high-quality chicken with enough fat, season it with plenty of salt, roast it until it is cooked through and the skin is brown, it will always be excellent. But if you ask me (and you’ve got the time), it’s the slow roast that gives you everything you want: perfectly golden skin, extremely tender meat, and plenty of salty, savory chicken juices to serve as a sauce. Above all other dishes in this book, this chicken truly embodies the “nothing fancy” mood. From the extremely simple assemblage of ingredients to the ridiculously handsoff preparation, it’s casual in a way that feels almost lazy (but isn’t), with “make sounds after you take a bite” levels of delicious. You could truly put things over the edge and add a few anchovies to the tomatoes. (Mandatory anchovies might make me seem like a one-trick-pony, but let’s pretend I’m not!)
Serves 4 to 6
- 3½- to 4-pound chicken
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1½ tablespoons fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle or spice mill, or chopped with a knife
- 1 bunch fresh oregano
- 1½ pounds small-ish vine-ripened tomatoes (about 6), halved lengthwise
- 2 heads of garlic, halved crosswise (don’t worry about leaving the skin on; it’s fine)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 4–6 1-inch-thick slices of good country bread, such as country loaf or sourdough, toasted (optional)
NOTE: Get ready for an unpopular opinon. Crispyskinned chicken is a myth and a lie. Even when remotely crispy out of the oven, it will soften and deflate the second you slice into it. At best, there may be crispy bits, but to think you can somehow get the skin of an entire chicken shatteringly crispy will only lead you to frustration and disappointment.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper (if you can do this in advance, please do; think of it as a casual brine). Drizzle it with the olive oil and sprinkle with the fennel seeds.
- Stuff the cavity with half the oregano and place in a large baking dish. Scatter the tomatoes, garlic, butter, and remaining oregano around the chicken. Roast until the chicken is golden brown and completely cooked through, and the tomatoes are nice and jammy, 2½ to 3 hours. Add the vinegar to the tomatoes and let the chicken rest in the baking dish for 10 minutes.
- Place toast on serving platter and spoon the jammy tomatoes over or around the toast. Carve the chicken and place on top of the toast to catch the juices.
DO AHEAD The chicken can be roasted a few hours ahead; it’s very good at room temperature.
Reprinted from Nothing Fancy. Copyright © 2019 by Alison Roman. Photographs copyright © 2019 by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.
