Sage Roasted Chicken Legs With Chicken Liver And Mushroom Pasta Food

RIGATONI WITH CHICKEN LIVERS

Steps:

• Cook pasta in a large pot of generously salted water until very al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
• Season livers with salt and pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook livers, flipping once, until plump and golden brown, about 4 minutes; transfer to a cutting board. Reduce heat to medium and melt remaining tablespoon butter. Add onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook until golden, about 8 minutes. Chop livers and return to pan, along with any juices and sage. Increase heat to medium-high. Add wine; simmer until liquid is reduced by half.
• Add pasta and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water. Simmer until sauce coats pasta; remove from heat. Toss with Parmesan and parsley. If dry, toss with more pasta water, a bit at a time. Divide among 6 bowls; drizzle with oil and sprinkle with Parmesan.

SAGE-ROASTED CHICKEN LEGS WITH CHICKEN LIVER AND MUSHROOM PASTA

Steps:

• Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring, until it begins to render fat. Add the minced onion and saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute until browned and softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the chicken livers and cook, stirring constantly, just until browned on the outside, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and vinegar and simmer for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a sage leaf under the skin of each piece of chicken. Season with 3 teaspoons of the salt and pepper to taste. Place the chicken in a roasting pan and roast until the skin is brown and crisp and the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the penne to the water and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes.
• Remove the chicken legs from the pan and tent with foil to keep them warm. Pour the fat from the pan and place the pan over medium-high heat. Pour in the mushroom mixture and simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, for about 2 minutes. Season with the remaining teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste.
• Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss to coat well. Place 1 thigh and 1 drumstick on each of 4 plates. Spoon the pasta beside the chicken and serve immediately.

CRISPY SAGE & LEMON ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• The night before, put the chicken in a medium roasting tin. Rub the salt generously over the skin and into the cavity, then grind over some black pepper. Push one half of a lemon into the cavity, then tie the legs together with kitchen string. Cover and chill overnight.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Dab a little of the excess salt from the skin using kitchen paper.
• Mix the butter with the garlic and sage. Push the herby garlic butter under the skin using your hands and rub it over the flesh, making sure it's evenly spread out. Stuff the thyme and bay leaves into the cavity, then put the remaining lemon halves in the tin around the chicken. Roast for 1 hr, then baste the chicken with the buttery juices from the tin. Roast for a further 20-30 mins, or until cooked through. Check the chicken is cooked by inserting a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh - the juices should run clear.
• Transfer the chicken to a board, cover and leave to rest for 20 mins before carving. Slice and serve on a warmed platter.

CHICKEN LIVER & MUSHROOM NESTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then soften the onions for 10 mins with the pan covered. Turn up the heat, add the mushrooms and fry for about 10 mins until golden and all their liquid has evaporated. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 min more. Tip everything onto a plate.
• Pat the livers dry, then add a little more oil to the pan. Sizzle in batches for about 20 secs on each side until just golden but not cooked through. Set aside on a plate as you go. Tip in the brandy and let it reduce to 1 tbsp. Roughly chop the livers once cooled, then mix with the oniony mushrooms, brandy, bread and almost all the parsley and nuts.
• To cook, wind bacon rashers into the wells of a 12-hole bun tin, like little nests. Spoon in the stuffing (reserving 250g for your turkey), scatter with remaining nuts, then bake, covered with foil, for 20 mins. Uncover and cook for 25 mins more until the bacon is gold. Scatter with remaining chopped parsley to serve.

CHICKEN LIVERS WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Boil water, add bouillon to dissolve, set aside.
• Melt margarine in 8 inch skillet.
• Brown livers over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes.
• Stir in mushrooms (with liquid)
• Add bouillon/water, flour, salt(if using), pepper and parsley.
• Heat to boiling.
• Reduce heat and simmer uncovered
• Stir occasionally until livers are done, about 5 minutes.
• I usually use fresh sliced mushrooms as I don't really care for canned. Sorry, I'm not sure of the exact amount I use, I just add until it looks like enough -- oh, and I add about another 1/8 - 1/4 cup of water too if I use fresh mushrooms.
• I also add about 1/4 cup of diced onions and fry with liver for added flavour.
• I also do not add additional salt as I feel there is enough in the bouillon but the choice is yours.

SAGE AND GARLIC ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 240°C (475°F).
• Add butter, sage, lemon pepper and garlic in a bowl and combine.
• Using your fingers and a small, sharp knife, loosen skin of chicken from breasts and thighs.
• Slip butter mixture between skin and meat, spreading it evenly.
• Brush skin with chicken fat or oil and season cavity with salt and pepper to taste.
• Stuff with lemon, parsley, some of the carrots and 1 quartered onion.
• Tie legs together with kitchen twine.
• Put the other quartered onion and leftover carrots onto center of roasting pan and place chicken on top of them.
• Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 200°C (400°F).
• Continue roasting until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh reads 80°C (170°F), about 1 hour. This will be about 20 minutes less with a pound less chicken.
• Transfer chicken to where you plan to carve and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

CHICKEN BALLOTTINES WITH SAGE & PANCETTA

Steps:

• Firstly neaten the ends of the drumsticks. Using a small sharp knife, make a cut all around each chicken leg, about 4cm up from the knuckle end. Holding the leg like a gun, squeeze it tight to pull the skin taut, then scrape down to the bottom of the bone to remove the tendons and clean the bone, turning the leg as you go (scissors are good for cutting the tendons). Now position your knife across the bottom of the exposed bone and bash the knife with a rolling pin or meat mallet - the bone will break smoothly.
• Lay the chicken legs skin-side down, pull the flaps of skin back and cut the flesh with a very sharp small knife on either side of the thigh bone using a shaving action. Once the bone is exposed, prise it out, then twist and snap it with your fingers to free it from the drumstick. If it doesn't snap clean you may have to cut it. You now have a part-boned chicken leg.
• Lightly sauté the mushrooms in a little hot olive oil for about 5 minutes until lightly browned, season well and leave to cool. Open out the boned chicken legs and spoon in the mushrooms. Cut the end off each chipolata and squeeze the sausagemeat over the mushrooms, using the chipolata skin as a piping bag. Push sausagemeat with your fingers right to the top of the thigh, then close the flaps and pull the skin across to secure. Now roll the legs over to make the parcels as neat as possible, then hold the exposed bone and straighten out each leg.
• Cut 4 sheets of foil (enough to wrap each chicken leg comfortably). Lay 6-7 rashers of pancetta down the centre of each sheet, overlapping slightly, then put the chicken legs crossways over the pancetta and top each leg with 2 sage leaves. Lift up the edge of the foil that is furthest away from you, bring it over the chicken and press down on the chicken, so that the pancetta comes away from the foil and sticks to the chicken. Repeat with the other side of the foil so the chicken legs are all wrapped in pancetta.
• Roll each leg in the foil, tucking it in and pressing it tight to the chicken to form a neat cylinder. Lift the cylinder up by the bone at one end and roll the foil at both ends, twisting to make a cracker shape.
• Preheat oven to fan 200C/conventional 220C/gas 7. Put the chicken parcels on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, turning them twice. Turning them like this ensures they will be evenly coloured. Turn the oven down to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4 and roast for a further 30 minutes, turning once. Remove and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Unwrap, tipping the juices on to a plate.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil and a knob of butter in a non-stick sauté pan until hot and foaming. Put the chicken legs in the pan and brown over a high heat on all sides, basting frequently and turning with a pair of tongs. As they start to brown, add a few small knobs of butter one at a time to the fat in the pan (adding the butter a little at a time keeps it fresh and prevents scorching). Lift the chicken legs from the pan and roll them around in the juices on the plate so they pick up a nice glaze.
• Cut the stuffed thigh meat of each chicken leg on the diagonal into 3 slices each. Don't slice the meat too thin or it will get cold. Spoon the polenta on to the plates, stand the drumsticks in the middle and lay 3 slices of stuffed chicken in front. Drizzle with a little vinaigrette and serve immediately, with roasted tomatoes on the side.