One of my favorite combinations is roast chicken cut into pieces and served on a Boston lettuce salad topped with a bit of sautéed chopped onion and parsley and the juices from the chicken. I usually roast my own chicken, but when I am in a bind, I buy a freshly roasted rotisserie chicken. Dark brown, shiny, and juicy, the cooked chicken is perfect with my salad.
I wanted to show Shorey how to use the supermarket in the best possible way, and how you can transform an ordinary chicken, making it your own, with a bit of imagination and know-how. I demonstrated how to carve the bird into eight or ten pieces with kitchen shears and arrange these pieces on young, tender Boston lettuce leaves spread out on a large platter.
— Jacques Pépin
• ON-DEMAND: Listen to Faith, Jacques and Shorey talk about this recipe on The Faith Middleton Food Schmooze® and watch Jacques and Shorey make this dish on Sur la Table’s website. •
Excerpted from A Grandfather’s Lessons: In the Kitchen with Shorey by Jacques Pépin. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Copyright ©2017 by Jacques Pépin. Photographs ©2017 by Tom Hopkins.
| Servings |
| 4 -6 people |
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Sautéing a mixture of garlic, scallions, and shallots in olive oil and sprinkling that on top gives the dish a personal delicious touch. This dish should be served lukewarm or at room temperature, not ice-cold.
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- 1 head Boston lettuce (5 to 6 ounces), preferably hydroponic
- 1 rotisserie chicken (about 2 pounds), plus 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the cooking juices
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2/3 cup sliced scallions
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped shallots
- 1-1/2 tablespoons chopped garlic (4 or 5 cloves)
- Separate the lettuce into leaves and arrange them on a large platter. Using kitchen shears or a knife, cut the chicken into 8 to 10 pieces (that includes the backbones, neck, wings, etc.) and arrange them on top of the lettuce. Sprinkle the chicken and salad with the salt and pepper.
- At serving time, make the garnish: Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the scallions, shallots, and garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until softened. Add the chicken cooking juices and stir well.
- Sprinkle the garnish on top of the chicken and salad. Serve immediately.
