Spatchcocked Roast Chicken with Onion, Preserved Lemon and Middle Eastern Spices

Directions

1. Heat oven to 500°. Cut the back out of the chicken; snip down the center of the keel bone (the bone that looks like a keel of a ship, between the two breasts) a few inches so that the chicken will flatten more easily. Slice one onion. Pile slices in the middle of a large cast iron skillet, place the chicken on top, and sprinkle the chicken generously with kosher salt. Add a half glass of water. Roast for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, slice the second onion, thinly slice a few garlic cloves, and finely chop 2 rinsed preserved lemon quarters. Stir together in a small bowl a couple pinches of dried thyme, a good dash of ground allspice and a tiny pinch of cinnamon (the latter is optional - if you're not crazy about cinnamon, use cumin instead), and a heaping tablespoon of sumac. Grind some black pepper over it.
3. After 30 minutes of roasting, lift the chicken, and pull the cooked onion slices out to the edge of the skillet. Throw into the center of the pan the sliced onion and garlic, preserved lemon, bay leaves, and the herb and spice blend, and give it all a good stir. Pour a glass of dry white wine over the chicken and roast for another 30 - 45 minutes depending on the size of the bird. Tent with foil midway through this period if the skin is darkening too much. To check whether the chicken is done, push a meat thermometer or oven probe into the thickest part of the thigh – it’s ready at 165 degrees.
4. Let roasted chicken rest, covered with foil. * * * * * * Optional: Remove the onions and any herbs and preserved lemon that cling to them. Puree, either with an immersion blender (I do this in a 2-cup Pyrex measure) or in a small food processor. Add a few tablespoons of water if necessary to get a nice smooth puree.
5. While the chicken is resting, add remaining wine and 1/2 cup of water to the skillet. Bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping up any hard bits. Reduce for about a minute. Add pureed onions if you chose to do that step. Check for salt and correct. Grind over the sauce black pepper to taste. Serve the carved chicken with the onion sauce. ;o) Yours sincerely, AntoniaJames ;o)
6. A suggestion: After dinner, before (or while) cleaning up, pour about a cup of filtered water into the skillet and stir into it all the remaining sauce, over medium heat. Pour it off into a Mason jar and refrigerate or freeze (wide-mouth jar only, leaving plenty of room at the top if freezing) to put in your next pot of soup or to flavor your next pilaf, or, use less - just enough to get the last of the luscious, flavorful bits -- drizzle on an omelet or frittata. Simply delicious. ;o)
7. Variation 1: Sausage and herbs: Pile the onion slices in the middle of the pan; sprinkle on 1 tablespoon each of fresh marjoram and fresh thyme leaves, or a couple good pinches of dried, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg; sit the chicken on top; surround the bird with 2 or 3 brats, depending on their size. After 30 minutes, remove the sausages, and slice; pull the onions out to the side of the skillet, and pile the sausage slices on top. Continue as above. Add a teaspoon or two of stoneground or Dijon mustard to the sauce, if the spirit moves you. Remove the sausage slices before making the sauce and serve on the side.
8. And, either with or without the sausage slices:
9. Variation 2. Celery stalks cut at an angle into 2” lengths and added after the first 30-minute roasting period. Use the same herbs, but not the nutmeg. Remove the celery with the sausage slices when making the sauce.
10. Variation 3. Fennel, sliced, and added after the first 30-minute roasting period, with thyme and parsley only. Add bay leaves and a teaspoon of well-crushed fennel with the onions. Remove the fennel slices before making the sauce. Chop any fennel fronds and add immediately before serving.
11. Variation 4. Artichoke hearts (marinated, drained well), oregano, marjoram, parsley, all added after the first 30 minute roasting period; pile on top of the onion slices around the outside of the chicken. Remove the artichoke hearts and sausage before making the pan sauce.
12. Variation 5. Mustard and rosemary: Chop a tablespoon or 2 of fresh rosemary leaves with a pinch of salt. Sprinkle on the onion slices after putting them in the skillet. Add a splash of soy sauce and a good-sized dollop of mustard to the pan when making the pan sauce. Add extra wine, stock or water if the mustard makes the sauce too thick; cook it down for at least a minute at a gentle simmer, if you add wine.
13. If you're worried about pouring wine into your cast iron skillet, don't be. We don't add it until the pan has a fair bit of chicken fat and juices released by the onions, and we don't pour much in at a time. Your skillet and the sauce will both be just fine. ;o)