Needed: 5 star chicken dinner side
My SO is coming home after a two week business trip and I plan on cooking a celebratory dinner. The main will be roasted chicken pieces which I cook low and slow with liberal amounts of salt and spices. I am looking for a good accompaniment besides the typical rice. I was thinking some type of puree with a seasonal ingredient but I can't figure out what. The chicken will be very crisp and salty so I don't want to add to much salt in anything else. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
27 Comments:
How about Polenta (soft)? You could also do a rissoto with some spring vegetables as a variation on the "typical rice".
potroast at 4:10PM on 07/07/09
What types of spices? (on the chicken)
CJ McD at 4:12PM on 07/07/09
I like rattatoulle as a side dish. Zuccini, yellow squash, eggplant and tomotoes are reaching their seasonal peaks.
SavtaShayna at 4:15PM on 07/07/09
You may be jaded about rice but it's still my favorite side for roast chicken along with raw watercress, and it's easier than making mashed potatos. If you're in funds, go to the best wine store in town and see if they have a good white Montrachet available.
What's in season right now - asparagus, English pod peas, fiddleheads, etc... deserve to be served a separate course, simply cooked and not pureed as some foil to roast chicken.
Ortolan at 4:17PM on 07/07/09
Roasted potatoes or risotto.
CJ McD at 4:18PM on 07/07/09
How about a sweet potato mash? I make mine w/ a little butter, some orange zest and a little orange juice.
gbania at 4:41PM on 07/07/09
What is your SO's favorite side? Isn't that what it's really all about?
tapioca at 4:49PM on 07/07/09
zucchini and yellow squash cut into rounds and sauteed together in a little butter and olive oil with salt and pepper make a versatile, quick, and easy side dish
foodieteen at 5:07PM on 07/07/09
Roasted or grilled pit fruit compote with basalmic reduced. I also like gbania's idea of mashed sweet potatos. another good one that is sweet and elegent is a sweet pea puree with mint. You can eat it hot or cold but I like it in the summer cold it would even out the saltiness of the chicken.
pjracz10 at 5:09PM on 07/07/09
@gbania- sweet potatos, great idea, I hadn't thought of that.
I coat the chicken in kosher salt, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, fresh rosemary and thyme. As for the SO, he has a voracious appetite but very little opinion as to what he is eating. I usually serve it with mashed potato or wild rice but I am looking for something else this time that is not a starch per se. My reason for considering a puree is I am looking to plate the dinner and want the entire effect to be simplistic ie not potatoes and peas and chicken and whatnot on a plate. (at least not for tonight.) It is my firm belief that the greatness of a fresh vegetable can be retained in a well executed puree, if not enhanced, unlike some above.
njfvt at 5:11PM on 07/07/09
@pjracz10- Love the pea idea, there have been tons of english peas at the FM so that would work greay.
njfvt at 5:13PM on 07/07/09
if you want something seasonal, i sauteed some pancetta this weekend, took it out of the pan and then added some sugar snap peas, fresh corn off the cob, finely diced zucchini and some garlic scapes, sauteed and added the pancetta with some salt and pepper back into the pan. it was reallllly good, and i think would go well with chicken. i used the leftovers the next day tossed with some soba noodles
korovka at 5:13PM on 07/07/09
Something to soak up the juices. I remember Barefoot Contessa makes homemade croutons and pours pan juices over the works. Haven't tried it myself but it looks delicious.
ag3208 at 6:20PM on 07/07/09
Panzanella (tomato and crispy bread salad) would be lovely for a light and easy side--rustic and yet so pretty with roast chicken. Baby greens tossed in a light lemon thyme vinaigrette would also be a nice side--perhaps with a bit of goat cheese or better yet, a slice of goat cheese that has been breaded with panko and quickly sauteed for a bit of indulgence without a heavy hand.
dhorst at 7:09PM on 07/07/09
When I roast a chicken (whole or parts), I put a bed of small red potatoes, fennel, carrots and onions underneath it to roast in the drippings while the chicken is cooking. BF says he thinks the vegetables are almost better than the chicken!
Amandarama at 7:16PM on 07/07/09
I vote for panzanella, it's so delicious. If you're set on a puree, you could try broccoli. I think Giada has a recipe with butter and parm, but there's got to be others out there.
I like mashed potatoes with roast chicken. A decadent version with garlic, it's a puree.
renzata at 8:13PM on 07/07/09
I also vote for panzanella. I know you said you wanted some sort of mash, but a raw side might be especially refreshing alongside a slow-cooked meat.
But, keeping in tune with the season, I think something with squash would be delicious. You could lightly saute an assortment and top with feta or goat cheese.
sarar at 9:36PM on 07/07/09
brown butter and sweet corn puree. delicious. But it wouldn't give much contrast in color from the chicken, methinks. hmmm, perhaps if you made a balsamic reduction and drizzled or dotted the corn puree. plus accented with a hit of green in the form of some tender young radish sprouts or some other microgreens.
wookie at 10:46PM on 07/07/09
I roasted some chicken the other week and served with lemon roasted carrots and boiled new potatoes with truffle butter.
For the carrots leave whole or cut in halves or quarters, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, add a few crushed garlic cloves and cover with several thin slices of lemon. Place in oven with chicken and shake once or twice until cooked and slightly brown. Let cool as they are delicious warm.
Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. Remove and cut in quarters and mix with butter (truffle butter if you have some) and maybe a touch more salt.
Some sauteed greens would go well too.
ctimber at 11:29PM on 07/07/09
Obviously not a puree, but great in the summer w/roast chicken
Green Bean Salad with feta, sun dried tomatoes and black olives (NOTE: arugula (rocket) or spinach can be substituted for the green beans as a fresh salad (with no cooking required) (based on a dish I had at The Electric on Portobello Road)
Make a basic vinaigrette by mixing finely chopped onion, dijon and ww vinegar in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Add herbs, S&P, black olives and sun-dried tomatoes
2 Tbsp finely chopped red onion
1 tsp Dijon
1 Tbsp ww vinegar
3 Tbls Olive oil
Thyme or oregano
Salt and pepper
¼ cup chopped black olives
¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
Trim, boil or steam ½ lb green beans until crisp tender and add to the vinaigrette (let cool a bit), crumble in the feta and toss and serve.
NOTE: If there are left-overs (when using arugula or spinach) toss the left-overs in w/scrambled eggs and serve on toast the next day.
Draderho at 1:59PM on 07/08/09
I do a mash of potatoes, cauliflower, garlic, cheese, cream that goes amazingly well with chicken...... If you leave the skins on the potatoes (newer ones obviously), it gives a nice texture/look to the mash.
Maureen at 2:14PM on 07/08/09
Hmmmmm . . . how about quinoa and some sauteed kale?
ride&cook at 3:10PM on 07/08/09
I agree with whoever said soft polenta. You can make a little puddle of it on the plate and then arrange the chicken on top of that. If you really want some color, there are purple potatoes or sweet potatoes that you could make a puree from instead.
nightowl at 5:32PM on 07/08/09
I vote for potato gratin. The creamy cheese (or cheeses, depending upon your taste) really sets off the crispy and salty chicken. You can prep the gratin early in the day, put it in the oven to bake at the same time as your chicken, and have it finish browning while the chicken rests. Mmmm . . . gratin!
If you have your heart set on mash, how about either potato and celery root or potato and fennel (great recipe for the latter here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Yukon-Gold-and-Fennel-Puree-with-Rosemary-Butter-350476)?
Mizbee at 8:02PM on 07/08/09
Cook your rice in chicken stock with a side of wilted spinach ( in evo with garlic) topped with feta cheese.
Poultrygeist at 10:07PM on 07/08/09
Pureed cauliflower with caramelized onions. Recipes all over the web.
bessfour at 8:35AM on 07/09/09
How about a new potato, fennel and radish salad This incorporates summer veggies and it's elegant too!
Chew on That at 5:09PM on 07/10/09