Halloween is supposed to be next week, but the wildlife goblins are not familiar with human calendars and arrived at our house early. Their early morning activity left us with a pumpkin carving reminiscent of the Norwegian artist Edward Munch’s famous painting “The Scream,” originally exhibited under the German title “Der Schrei der Natur.”
Origins of our Halloween celebrations are found in an ancient Celtic harvest festival on with bonfires and costumes to ward off ghosts on Oct. 31. It is easy to see how it was adapted in Christian times with All Saints Day celebration on Nov. 1 and became All Hallows Day Eve or Halloween.
Unexpected surprises are bound to send a cook for recipes that bring comfort food and serenity to the table. There is nothing easier and more comforting than roast chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, however, cooks like to improvise and this time our lemony chicken was roasted on a bed of vegetables with herbs resulting in a most flavorful and appetizing meal.
Lemon-herb roasted chicken
Lemon-herb roast chicken (Photo courtesy I. Winicov Harrington)
Rinse a 5-6 lb chicken and pat dry with paper towels both inside and out and allow to warm up at room temperature for 20 minutes. Prepare lemon-herb butter by melting 4 tbsp butter, 2 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp lemon pepper, and 2 grated garlic cloves. Remove from heat and stir in grated zest of 1 lemon.
Make a deep pocket under the skin on the breast with your fingers and an inverted tablespoon and spread half of the butter mix over the breast meat under the skin. Stuff the cavity with the quartered lemon used for zest-butter, 1 medium onion thickly sliced, and one halved garlic clove.
Make a bed for the chicken in a large roasting pan by slicing: 1 lemon, 1 onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 large carrot, and 1 celery stalk. Place stuffed chicken on top, tie the legs with kitchen twine, and tuck the wings under or pin to the sides with small skewers.
Baste the rest of the lemon butter all over the chicken, pour 1 cup water in the bottom of the pan and bake at 425 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast reads 165 degrees. Add a bit more water to the bottom of the pan after 1 hour of baking to avoid burning the vegetables.
Allow the chicken to rest on a platter for 15-20 minutes before carving. Roasting the chicken on top of the vegetables will give you amazingly flavorful gravy. Scoop out the vegetables from the pan and save to add in making chicken broth from the leftover carcass.
For gravy, stir in 1/4 cup flour in the fat pan drippings on low heat to blend. Slowly add 2 cups of chicken broth with constant stirring. Adjust flavor with salt and pepper and add more chicken broth if the gravy is too thick. Stir in 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar to serve on chicken and mashed potatoes and enjoy.
October seems to fit foods with Germanic flavorings, so here is a recipe I recently discovered on a German food blog for a German version of zucchini fritters. No surprises there, they include shredded potatoes.
German zucchini-carrot and potato fritters
Coarsely grate 1 medium zucchini on a box grater, salt with 1 tbsp coarse salt and set on the counter for 30 minutes. Rinse zucchini 3 times and squeeze out as much water as you can. Toss with 1 medium grated carrot, 4 oz grated Gruyere cheese, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/3 tsp lemon pepper, 4 tbsp rough oatmeal (not quick cooking), 2 tbsp flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 grated potato squeezed dry in paper towels, and 2 fork beaten eggs. Thoroughly mix by hand and allow to stand at room temperature 10-15 minutes.
Scoop large egg sized portions, shape in your hands in a football shape, roll in flour, and place in hot vegetable oil on a pan. Slightly flatten each fritter, fry 4-6 minutes per side, and set on paper towels to drain. Serve warm or at room temperature with ½ cup sour cream mixed with 3/4 tsp. lemon juice, salt, pepper and 2 tbsp shredded cucumber.
Happy Halloween!!!!
(I. Winicov Harrington, of Waldoboro, is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less Than $5.00 a Day: The Smart-Frugal Food Plan” and “Uncharted Journey from Riga.” For more information, go to winicov-harrington.com.)
German zucchini fritters (Photo courtesy I. Winicov Harrington)
