Sicilian Lemon Chicken

We’ve made this savory lemon chicken dish for a lot of dinner parties, because it’s simple and delicious and serves a crowd well. The original recipe was from Rao’s Restaurant, a famous old Italian place in New York’s East Harlem.

Ingredients

For the Lemon Sauce

2 cups fresh lemon juice (we squeeze from 10-12 fresh lemons, but we'll look the other way if you want to use bottled lemon juice)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

2 1/2 to 3-pound broiling chickens, halved

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp cornstarch

Whisk together the lemon juice, oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, and salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.

Preheat broiler for 15 minutes. Place chicken halves on a baking pan and broil, turning once, for about 30 minutes until chicken is browned and fully cooked.

Remove chicken and cut each half into about 6 portions. Shake the lemon sauce and pour it over the chicken. Return to the broiler and cook an additional 3 minutes. Turn the pieces over and cook the other sides for 3 more minutes.

Remove from oven and place chicken pieces on a warm serving platter. Pour the lemon juice into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Stir in parsley and cook for 1 minute. Whisk the cornstarch into the warm water and stir into the lemon sauce. Simmer 1-2 more minutes, until slightly thickened. Pour some of the sauce over the chicken and serve the rest in a bowl.

Make sure you serve this with lots of good crusty bread for sopping up all the lemon sauce!

Serves 6-8.

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Fried Sage Leaves (Salvia Fritta)

Thanks to Lawrence Rice for capturing these luscious leaves. :)

Just as the last leaves fall and the first snows start, a sage bush in the herb garden is still pumping out leaves. That's probably why sage is such a traditional part of Thanksgiving seasonings. In Tuscany, we found that they're in love with sage, too. We swooned over a small side dish of fried sage leaves that accompanied a rosemary-scented porterhouse steak. Now we're fried-sage evangelists.

Sage is a powerful herb, but the light crust and quick frying transforms the leaves into a mellow crispy treat, kind of like a flavored potato chip. These are wonderful alongside any kind of meat, or as a good snack or appetizer. You might find yourself whipping up a batch to sprinkle over a vegetable or grain dish, too.

Actually, we have trouble getting them to the table, since we like to munch on them while we're putting the finishing touches on dinner. Yes, they're that good.

Ingredients

24 large fresh sage leaves

1 egg

2 tbsp water

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp salt, plus more for sprinkling before serving

Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Rinse the sage leaves and pat them dry with paper towels.

Whisk together the egg and water in a shallow bowl. In a plate, stir together the flour and salt. Layer a platter with paper towels to drain the cooked leaves. 

Pour about 1 inch of oil into a large frying pan and heat until a drop of water sizzles on contact. Working quickly in small batches, dip the leaves into the egg mixture, let the excess drain off, then dip them into the flour and shake off the excess. Drop them into the oil and cook until barely golden - do not let them brown, as this will make them taste bitter.

Drain the cooked leaves on the paper toweling, and set the platter in the oven to keep them warm while you finish the rest of the leaves. 

Sprinkle with salt before serving.

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