Guy Rawlings' Roast Chicken with Carrots, Charred Radicchio and Lardo
This was inspired by a dish I can still picture that I had 13 years go at Franny’s, in Brooklyn—one of my favourite restaurants.
It closed a few years ago. The veggies are so good: sweet roasted carrots contrasted with the mild bitterness of grilled radicchio, smoothed out with creamy lardo (bacon fat). A whole roasted chicken on top. To me, when you just nail it with simplicity like this, nothing beats it. We offered this as a takeout dinner in late September. These are great flavours for fall and winter.—Guy Rawlings – Montgomery’s, Toronto
INGREDIENTS
- 1 small chicken, about 1.5 kg (3 lb)
- flaky sea salt (preferably Newfoundland Salt Company)
- herbes de Provence (or other mixed dried herbs)
- Espelette pepper (or other ground, dried mild capsicum)
- olive oil
- 500 g (1 lb) medium-size carrots (preferably Nantes)
- 1 head radicchio, quartered
- 2 tbsp very sharp (2:1 oil-to- vinegar) vinaigrette
- 6 slices lardo, paper-thin
METHOD
Truss the chicken, season generously inside and out with salt, herbs and Espelette. Refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
Preheat oven to 120C (250F).
Transfer chicken to a rack in a roasting pan and rest on the countertop for 1 hour. Brush breast with olive oil, about 1 tsp. Cook for 45 minutes. Set aside on countertop.
Raise oven temperature to 250C (475F) and preheat grill (or grill pan) on high.
In a roasting pan, toss carrots with 1 tbsp oil and salt to taste. Baste chicken with its juices. Transfer carrots and chicken to the hot oven (and activate convection
if available). Roast chicken until bronzed and a thermometer inserted at the thigh bone reads 65C (150F), about 15 minutes. Set aside to rest under a tent of aluminum foil for 20 to 30 minutes. Turn the carrots or shake the pan every 10 minutes or so. When they are nicely coloured and easily pierced with a fork—about 30 minutes—set aside on the countertop. Grill the radicchio segments until lightly charred on all sides. Remove and transfer to a platter. Once the radicchio is cool enough to handle, tear the segments into pieces and dress with the vinaigrette. Carve the chicken and serve with carrots and warm radicchio draped with lardo.
Serves 2 Generously
📷 Jacob Richler
