Free Recipe: Roasted Chicken with Sweet Corn Succotash

(This recipe serves 4)

INGREDIENTS

If possible, have a butcher tie or truss the birds for you. If not, follow these easy steps: Use butchers twine cutting a three foot section for each bird. Start by tucking the wingtips under themselves, and then align the chicken with the cavity facing you. Tie the legs together using the middle of the string so when you are done there will be equal lengths of string coming from either side. Then wrap the string around the wings. Keeping the string taut flip the bird over and tie it in the middle. Tying the chicken makes the bird more of a solid mass so it will cook more evenly.

Preheat oven to 375°

After the birds are prepared: start by cutting the kernels off the cob, reserving the cobs. Use a food processor to chop the corn as fine as you can. Mix the corn, butter, parsley, lemon zest, and lemon juice together in a bowl with a fork until well combined to create a mixture I call “corn butter.” Check the birds to make sure they are room temperature and get your roasting rack and pan ready. Stuff as much corn butter under the skins of the chicken breasts as you can. Season the chickens all over with salt & pepper, set on roasting rack and cook in the middle of the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour. Baste the chickens like crazy with pan juices. They are done when the juices run clear after poking a fork behind the legs.

SWEET CORN SUCCOTASH

Preheat oven to 350°

Cut the kernels off the cobs, reserving the cobs. Chop the bacon finely. In a Dutch oven or casserole dish (preferably cast iron), on medium high heat, start sautéing the bacon and onions until the onions become translucent and the bacon starts to brown. Add the garlic, peas and corn. Stir to combine, and then add the chicken broth.

Stir with your wooden spoon rubbing the bottom of the pot to release the trapped goodies. Put the lid on and put in the oven to stew for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. After the succotash is cooked let it cool on the stove with the lid on.

Meanwhile, set the oven to broil. Cut the sides off the peppers leaving them as flat as possible. Rub them lightly with olive oil and spread them out on a foil lined baking sheet. Then set under broiler until skin becomes blistered and dark (approximately 15-20 minutes). Remove and let them cool, then peel them under cool running water. Make sure to remove all the dark bits or it will add a slight bitter flavor.

Finally, puree the peppers in a food processor until smooth. Stir the roasted pepper puree, and the two tablespoons of butter into the succotash and season with salt, black pepper and sherry vinegar to taste.

TO ASSEMBLE

Filet the breasts off the bird, then the legs, with a filet knife in one hand and a fork in the other; plate them for your guests and spoon over some pan juices. Put the succotash in the middle of the table to share.

RECOMMENDED WINE PAIRING:

Pinot Noir, Savigny-Les Beaune, Joseph Drouhin, Bourgogne, France 2002

Executive Chef Tarver King: A native of Virginia, Chef King began cooking at the age of 15 inspired by his grandmother, Tatiana McKenna, the recipes editor for Vogue in the 1960's. His quest to develop his own style of cooking took him to some of America's greatest kitchens. He performed stages at the French Laundry, Le Bec Fin, and Roy's in Philadelphia before landing at The Inn at Little Washington in 2002. It was there that he entered the world of renowned chef Patrick O'Connell. He served as Chef de Partie at the Five-Star, Five Diamond restaurant gaining a fondness for "comfort" foods utilizing the best ingredients from the farmers in the surrounding Virginia countryside. He moved on to the Hurricane at Perkins Cove in Ogunquit, Maine before returning to the sunny south and Woodlands Resort & Inn in 2004.

Tarver will be sharing free recipes on a regular basis so check back periodically for more palate pleasing dishes.

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