For our own take on Zuni Café's roast chicken with bread salad, we started by butterflying a whole chicken and salting it overnight so it would cook quickly and evenly and be juicy and well seasoned. Before roasting the chicken in a 475-degree oven, we covered the bottom of a skillet with bread cubes that we had moistened with oil and broth and then draped the chicken on top. The bread cubes toasted and browned beneath the bird while absorbing its juices to create a mix of moistened, crispy-fried, and chewy pieces all packed with savory flavor. To finish the dish, we built a vinaigrette of champagne vinegar, oil, currants, thinly sliced scallions, Dijon mustard, and chicken drippings that we tossed with peppery arugula, and the toasted bread. We served the salad alongside the carved chicken so the greens didn't wilt.
Notes
Note that this recipe requires refrigerating the seasoned chicken for 24 hours. This recipe was developed and tested using Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you have Morton Kosher Salt, which is denser than Diamond Crystal, put only ½ teaspoon of salt onto the cavity. Red wine or white wine vinegar may be substituted for champagne vinegar if desired. For the bread, we prefer a round rustic loaf with a chewy, open crumb, and a sturdy outer crust.
Ingredients
- 1 4-pound whole chicken - giblets discarded
- Kosher salt
- black pepper
- 4 1-inch-thick slices country-style bread - (8 ounces), bottom crust removed, cut into ¾- to 1-inch pieces (5 cups)
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 6 ⅔ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil - 6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons, divided
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 scallions - sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons dried currants
- 5 ounces baby arugula - 5 cups
Instructions
Spatchcock the bird
- Place chicken, breast side down, on cutting board.
- Using kitchen shears, cut through bones on either side of backbone; discard backbone. Do not trim off any excess fat or skin.
- Use a paring knife to make a small slit through the soft breast bone.
- Flip the chicken over and press on the breastbone to flatten.
Season the bird
- Using your fingers, carefully loosen the skin covering the breast and legs.
- Rub ½ teaspoon salt under the skin of each breast, ½ teaspoon under the skin of each leg, and 1 teaspoon of salt onto the bird's cavity.
- Tuck wings behind back and turn legs so drumsticks face inward toward breasts.
- Place the chicken on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet or on a large plate and refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 hours.
Arrange the bread
- Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 475 degrees.
- Spray a 12-inch skillet with vegetable oil spray.
- Toss the bread with the broth and 2 tablespoons of oil until pieces are evenly moistened.
- Arrange the bread in the skillet in a single layer, with the majority of crusted pieces near the center, crust side up.
Add the chicken and cook
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels and place, skin side up, on top of the bread.
- Brush 2 teaspoons oil over chicken skin and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Roast chicken until skin is deep golden brown and thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 45 to 50 minutes, rotating skillet halfway through roasting.
Prepare the salad
- While chicken roasts, whisk vinegar, mustard, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper together in a small bowl.
- Slowly whisk in remaining ¼ cup oil.
- Stir in scallions and currants and set aside.
- Place arugula in a large bowl.
Serve
- Transfer chicken to carving board and let rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
- Run a thin metal spatula under the bread to loosen from the bottom of the skillet. (Bread should be a mix of softened, golden-brown, and crunchy pieces.)
- Carve the chicken and whisk any accumulated juices into the vinaigrette.
- Add bread and vinaigrette to arugula and toss to evenly coat.
- Transfer the salad to a serving platter and serve with the chicken.