A Last Meal Level dish using my favorite ingredients. Chicken, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.
Set oven to 400 degrees.
3-4 LB Whole Chicken
Prep chicken in oven-safe pan, breast side up. Pat it dry. Mix the next four ingredients in a small bowl, whip it good:, set aside
2 T sun dried tomato paste or 3T diced Sun Dried Tomatoes in Oil (drained of oil).
3 T softened butter
2 T Meat/Poultry Seasoning (I use Chef’s Secret)
2 T Balsamic Vinegar
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Lg Tomato
Cut a large tomato, about 1/4″ thick slices, set aside. The pictured tomato is an heirloom Sioux type. Any favorite slicing tomato will be lovely in this dish.
Tuck half the whipped seasoning under the chicken skin at various places. Get messy with it. I use gloves. Rub the rest of the seasoning on the outside of the skin and drop some in the cavity of the chicken. I bake my chicken breast-side up. Prop the chicken up on some veggies so that it drains slightly while roasting, if roasting with veggies.* Place the sliced tomatoes on the top of the chicken. Salt and pepper the tomatoes and chicken generously, to your preference. Bake for around two hours. Baking time will depend on the size and composition of the chicken; check for doneness starting around the hour and a half mark. Look for juices running clear at the leg joint, which should register on a meat thermometer at 180 degrees. A bit of char on the chicken and tomato will enhance the flavor, as long as the meat is still juicy. No need to fear a bit of char, on this roasted chicken, it’s the cooked sugars in the tomatoes and vinegar. Once the chicken is roasted completely and taken from the oven, let it sit for a bit (10-20 minutes) while you prep the veggies and set the table. Set drippings aside in a gravy boat for bread and veggies.
Slice chicken and serve warm.
NOTE: Buy your favorite loaf of crusty bread, as this recipe will give you a lot of delicious drippings for dipping. The drippings also go well with carrots and potatoes, if you want to roast a few with the chicken. If you roast root veggies with the roast, cut in large chunks of similar size and coat in about a T of olive oil before adding to roasting pan beneath the chicken.
Or you can simply tip the chicken a bit to drain some of the excess drippings, half-way through roasting. If you forget, don’t stress. Forgetting won’t ruin the dish, just cooks it differently.
Ala Hannah Bon Appetit!
GLOSSARY
SLICING TOMATO – a larger round tomato, the type you would use to slice up for a burger. Generally meaty and juicy. Typical slicer would be a beefsteak tomato.
