ПОТ SAUSAGES AND FETTUCCINE with Chevre and Ratatouille
Serves 4
1 quart Ratatouille (page 188) 1 pound fettuccine noodles, homemade or IV2 pounds hot Italian sausage a good commercial type
Olive oil V2 pound chevre goat cheese
1. Heat the ratatouille.
2. Cook the sausages in a small amount of olive oil and keep warm.
1. 3. Boil the fettuccine and drain. Toss quickly in a bowl with olive oil and, if you like, some of the oil from the cooking of the sausage.
4. Arrange the fettuccine in large nests on warm plates or in shallow bowls. Spoon ratatouille into the center of the nests and top with the sausage. Crumble the chevre over all and serve.
As a complement to this straightforward, rustic dish I would choose either a red Italian, like a Chianti or other proprietary wine of Tuscany, or a red Bandol from Provence.
lVOASTED CHICKEN
with Lardoons, Wild Mushrooms, Pearl Onions, and a Red Wine Vinegar Sauce
/ don't know why, but a dish like this fills me with soft, pastoral images-it is a rustic, familial, soothing, and tempting kind of meal. These days, we seem to dote on parts: We grill chicken breasts, we barbecue turkey legs. Yet there is no thought given to where these things come from. There is a time when a whole, roasted bird should be brought to the table with a platter of garden-fresh vegetables, a bowl of snowy white mashed potatoes, and carafes of wine. The bird is carved and shared. A large crusty loaf of bread should be passed and everyone should pull a piece off and pass it on. Take some vegetables and pass them, too. It is communion, and it can be a vital process in the nurturing of the palate, the understanding of cuisine, and the appreciation of life.
Serves 6
Three 3-pound whole chickens Salt and pepper % pound (1 stick) butter
1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh thyme leaves
6 ounces slab bacon, cut into '/4-inch by 1-inch strips (these are lardoons)
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 onion, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, cleaned and diced 6 whole cloves garlic, peeled
V2 cup olive oil
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 quarts strong Chicken Stock (page 240) Ч2 pound wild mushrooms, sliced
Ч2 pound pearl onions, blanched, skins and roots removed
1. 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash the chickens quickly in cold water and rub dry Season the cavities of the birds with salt and pepper. Truss the birds and rub them
all over with Va pound butter. Season the outside of the chickens with salt, pepper, and thyme.
2. Gently cook the bacon in a large roasting pan until just done. Remove and reserve.
3. Put the diced carrots, onion, celery, and garlic into the roasting pan and add the olive oil. Stir everything around to coat the vegetables. Place the chickens in the vegetables and roast approximately 30 to 40 minutes, basting the birds with their own juices periodically. Turn them over and roast another 20 minutes, approximately. (The juices should just run clear when the thigh is pierced.)
4. Remove the birds to a warm platter to rest in a warm place while you prepare the sauce. Pour the vegetables and pan drippings through a colander into a bowl. Reserve the drippings and return the vegetables to the roasting pan.
5. Put the roasting pan on a burner and turn heat to high. Scrape the vegetables from the bottom of the pan if any are sticking. (If any vegetables have blackened entirely, discard them.) Spoon off any excess grease. Add the vinegar to the roasting pan and reduce by half. Add the stock and again reduce by half.
6. Strain the contents of the roasting pan through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Allow sauce to settle; discard vegetables.
7. Heat a medium-sized saucepan on medium heat. Add the drippings saved from roasting the birds. Add the mushrooms and cook about 2 minutes. Add the pearl onions and cook about 2 minutes more. Season to taste. Add the sauce and cook to desired consistency.
8. If the birds have thrown off any extra drippings while resting on their platter, add those. Add the lardoons and check the seasoning.
9. Arrange the birds on a carving platter and send the sauce to the table in a separate sauce boat.
1. Either a robust young red, such as a Crozes-Hermitage, or a friendly Red Rioja would be enjoyable with this dish.