INGREDIENTS
1 whole chicken from your local butcher
1 large bunch of red grapes
3 sprigs of rosemary
canola oil
extra virgin olive oil
½ lb skin-on hazelnuts, rough chopped
1 bunch of your favorite kale
3 lbs yams
unsalted butter
white wine
1 lemon, cut into wedges
local honey
kosher salt
chunky sea salt (optional) or just use kosher salt
pepper grinder or cracked pepper
DIRECTIONS
Have your favorite butcher butterfly and par bone a fresh local chicken.
Place the chicken on a sheet pan and generously coat both sides with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper, set aside.
Set your grill to a medium high heat.
Preheat your oven to 400ºF.
Coat the grapes with a small amount of canola oil, a sprinkle of kosher salt and some fresh chopped rosemary. Roast in the oven on baking sheet for 15-20 minutes or until lightly caramelized. Remove from the oven and allow to rest.
Sprinkle some chunky sea salt on whole yams, place on a baking sheet and roast at 400ºF until very tender with a fork. Scoop the flesh into a food processor and pulse while adding cold, diced butter and honey. Blend until smooth and season to taste.
Rough chop the kale and place in a bowl. Rub with a touch of salt for 1 minute and set aside. Add a good drizzle of canola oil to coat the bottom of a pan large enough to fit the kale. Heat oil on medium high and add the kale. Work the kale with long tongs to mix evenly. When the kale starts to wilt, add a few splashes of white wine. Cook this down and reduce the pan liquid by half. Remove from heat and add some diced butter to create a sauce. Season to taste.
Place the chicken on the grill skin side down first—do not add oil to the chicken! Let the chicken be on the grill until golden lines appear. It should be easy to remove with tongs when ready. When it releases quite easily from the grill, flip the chicken over and cook for additional 4- 5 minutes, again flip the chicken to original side but this time turn the chicken to create cross hatch marks. After a nice golden brown, flip the chicken to finish. After the chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165ºF, allow it to rest for 5 minutes.
While the chicken is resting, remove the grapes from the stems.
You can now easily cut the chicken into 4 nice pieces.
On two plates, evenly spoon the yam puree creating an off-center well to hold a portion of the kale. Take two pieces of chicken and nicely layer over the top of the vegetables. Sprinkle the chicken with good extra virgin olive oil, some fresh squeezed lemon and finish the plate with lots of roasted grapes and chopped hazelnuts.
For more about Ethan Stowell, visit www.ethanstowellrestaurants.com