Italy Part 22

Just as autumn brings new color to tree leaves, so it does also with the seasonal bounty of root vegetables and produce!  I picked up some pink radishes, reserving their leaves, and petite fingerling potatoes to brighten this chicken dinner.

Roasted rosemary chicken (p. 132)

Baked radicchio (p. 131)

Roasted fingerling potatoes

Sauteed radish greens with garlic

Fingerling (finger-like) potatoes are one of my fall favorites.
Their smaller size allows for shortened cooking times
and they can range in color from yellow to purple.

Chicken stuffed with garlic cloves and fresh rosemary.
It required basting and turning to achieve
a juicy interior and crusty, golden exterior.

Cooking these dishes turned out to be quite the show. The radishes, potatoes and chicken were all fighting for oven space. I started with the chicken since it required the longest roasting time at the highest temperature (425 degrees F for 20 minutes each side). However, every time I opened the door of the oven to baste the bird with its juices, a large plum of smoke would escape and send my over-zealous smoke alarm screaming! What?! Not this again! If you remember from the end of Italy Part 17, I described my first problem with a smoking oven due to unknown pie filling residue on the oven floor. Following that embarrassment, I had thoroughly cleaned the oven, therefore the smoke from this chicken had me confused. I had to open the door again to see if I could quickly identify the problem. That was when my hand got attacked with hot grease bombs and I realized that my chicken was shamelessly spurting juice and fat from the roasting pan, leading to immediate combustion into smoke as it landed on the hot oven interior.  That little booger!! 


I tried reducing the temperature by 50 degrees and that seemed to stop the splatter chatter. However, I realized that even with additional cooking time, the chicken was not browning as it was supposed to. It needed that additional heat. At this point, with the potatoes and radishes nested on the second shelf in the oven, I raised the temp to 400 degrees F. Once again, screaming smoke alarms. I wanted that nice crispy texture for the chicken so badly that I opened the apartment door, turned on all of the fans, and took turns running from oven to smoke alarm until the bird was golden to a crisp with clear juices. I thanked the potatoes and radishes for being so amenable.

Eat your colors!

Did you know that America throws away nearly half of all of the food that we prepare and produce? Don't let radish greens be part of that statistic!  Try this easy solution...

Sauteed radish greens with garlic
Serves 2


Radish greens from 2 generous bunches of radishes
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove, large, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Separate radishes from their stems and thoroughly wash the radish greens in cool water to remove all of the dirt. This can be done by dunking in a bowl of water and then laying them out to dry on a dish towel. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over moderate heat. Add the garlic to the oil and let sizzle until slightly browned on the edges. Add the radish greens to the pan and coat with the hot oil and garlic. Turn heat to low and cover. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until leaves are wilted and soft. Add the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.