Brick Pressed Chicken With Chickpea Conserva Food

BRICK-PRESSED CHICKEN WITH CHICKPEA CONSERVA

Steps:

• Put garlic, basil, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, oil, salt and pepper in a blender. Starting on medium speed, blend everything together. Increase to high speed make sure everything is blended well. Once everything is homogenous, pour out into a large bowl.
• Very carefully cut along both sides of the backbone of the whole chicken to remove it, splitting the chicken, then cut down the breastbone to cut the chicken in half. Place the chicken halves in marinade. Let the chicken hang out in the marinade at room temperature for at least 1 hour or up to overnight in the fridge.
• Preheat a grill for cooking at medium-high heat. Lightly oil the grill grates. Place the chicken skin-side down on grill and place a brick on top of each piece to weigh them down. Let cook 5 minutes, then flip chicken and continue to press with bricks. Let cook until the chicken is fully cooked and its internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, about 10 minutes. Let chicken rest for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, begin warming Chickpea Conserva in its liquid. When the chickpeas are hot, plate them on a large serving platter and arrange the chicken on top. Serve immediately.
• Soak chickpeas in water at room temperature for at least 12 hours.
• Drain chickpeas well. Add olive oil, pancetta, carrots, celery, fennel, onions, garlic and thyme to a large saute pan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Add chickpeas and saffron and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken stock and cook for 15 minutes. Season with salt and cook until the chickpeas reach desired consistency, another 45 minutes. Take off heat, finish with lemon juice and pour chickpeas with their liquid into a pan set in ice to cool. Store the chickpeas in their liquid.

SMASHED CHICKPEA AND EGGPLANT PRESSED SANDWICH

Steps:

• Arrange an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Preheat a baking sheet in the oven for 10 minutes. Toss the eggplant rounds evenly with 3/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a large bowl; add 1/4 cup olive oil and toss again, making sure the eggplant soaks up all the oil. Remove the hot baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil; lay out the eggplant slices in one layer. Roast until soft and golden to dark brown on the underside, about 20 minutes. Let cool. Blot dry by pressing lightly with a paper towel.
• Meanwhile, put the chickpeas in a medium bowl. Mash with a fork or a potato masher until coarsely mashed with lots of large pieces. Add the lemon zest and juice, red onion, mint, 1/2 teaspoon salt, a few grinds of pepper and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and mix to combine.
• Assemble the sandwich by slicing the ciabatta loaf in half horizontally and lay the two halves cut-side up. Pull out some of the bread from both halves (save for another use), leaving a 1/2-inch border. Spread the hummus on both the bottom and top halves of the bread. On the bottom half, continue layering with half the chickpea mixture, the eggplant, and then the remaining chickpea mixture. Top with the cucumber, pepperoncini, shredded carrot, and the top half of the bread. Wrap tightly in parchment, wax paper or plastic wrap and tie with twine if necessary. Press 3 hours with a brick (see Cook's Note) or cast-iron skillet on top to flatten the sandwich, refrigerated. About 45 minutes before serving, bring the sandwich to room temperature.

PRESSED CHICKEN WITH SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• For the salsa verde: Put the parsley, tarragon, cornichons, garlic, anchovies, vinegar, capers and some salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse a few times to coarsely chop the herbs. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil to make a thick but pourable sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
• For the pressed chicken: Heat a charcoal or gas grill to medium-low.
• Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Line up the breasts skin-side down on the grill and lay a piece of foil on top to cover; do the same with the thighs. Set a heavy skillet on top of the breasts and a second skillet atop the thighs. Weight each skillet with a foil-wrapped brick. Cover the grill and cook, checking for color once or twice, until the skin is deep golden-brown and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the bricks, skillets and foil and set aside. Flip the chicken, cover the grill and cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, another 5 to 10 minutes depending on thickness.
• Remove the chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut each breast through the bone into 3 or 4 pieces and transfer to a platter along with the whole thighs. Drizzle the chicken with some salsa verde. Serve the remaining salsa verde on the side.