Slow Down, Roast Yourself a Meal

The scent is a heady blend of rosemary, thyme and olive oil. There’s a sizzling sound as chicken skin renders its fat. And you’re unwinding, reading a book.

This scenario does not come from a microwave meal. And it certainly isn’t something you’re going to experience when you open a carryout bag. As for relaxation, how enjoyable can standing in line at your local roast rooster joint really be?

You’re more likely to achieve dinner-time serenity by preparing an oven-cooked meal. Think of how pleasurable it would be to forgo the kitchen timer as the fragrance wafting through the house tells you your food is ready. Imagine how satisfying it is to do something creative. It’s almost impossible to experiment when you’re cooking as fast as you can. No wonder chefs, cookbook authors and even home cooks are rediscovering the oven.

“With lifestyles so frantic, it’s so wonderful to have something you can walk away from,” said Linda Griffith, co-author with her husband, Fred, of “Cooking Under Cover” (Chapters, 1996). Although the Griffiths love to throw something on the grill, that’s not the inspiration for their food memories.

“Most of my comfort foods are slow-simmered,” said Linda, who still remembers her grandmother’s stuffed cabbage rolls and chicken fricassee. “Oven-cooked recipes take little preparation. But the rewards are so wonderful. The house smells so good. Realtors say that baking cinnamon buns will fill the house with an appealing smell for perspective buyers. Oven-cooked entrees are even better,” she said.

The Griffiths travel frequently, and even then they’re drawn to oven entrees.

“Slow cooking may be a lost skill, so it’s inspiring when we see it,” said Fred. “Even in restaurants, I love seeing old-fashioned dishes such as venison stew or bigos [a Polish hunter’s stew].”

Chef Jean Joho’s Brasserie Jo in Chicago is one place to go for robust oven-cooked food. Joho is chef-owner of Everest restaurant, the ultimate in fine French dining in the Windy City. But when he wanted food that reminded him of his native Alsace, France, he opened a brasserie featuring Alsatian choucroute: roast leg of lamb, beef tongue, cassoulet and braised lamb shanks.

“When I was a child, we didn’t have gas tops in Alsace. We had wood-burning ovens, which everyone used. The first course went in the top of the oven, the second course in the bottom. We used the entire oven at the same time,” Joho said.

An American home cook might think of roast chicken as a big-deal Sunday night meal. In Joho’s home, roast chicken and a salad were fast food.

“It was light and it was easy cooking. No one thought of buying a roast chicken,” he said. He enjoys oven roasting large cuts of meat or poultry. “I make every kind of roast imaginable: pork, beef, veal, lamb, chicken, turkey, duck and goose. I like roasted foods. You keep the whole pieces and slice as you serve. Meat with the bone on has more flavor and more moisture. I would never buy boneless chicken to roast,” Joho said.

But don’t think that oven cooking is only for carnivores.

Dara Goldstein, who is as drawn to a snowy winter day as some people are to a Caribbean beach in January, loves a meal of oven-roasted vegetables.

“I cook vegetables long and slow in the winter so their aromas fill the house,” said Goldstein, author of “The Vegetarian Hearth” (HarperCollins, 1996).

Winter vegetables--like turnips, Brussels sprouts, rutabaga, parsnips and celery root--are “caramelized, sweeter, transformed by heat,” said Goldstein, who keeps a root cellar with potatoes and carrots from her garden. “Old carrots that are woody and don’t look so good can be braised with maple syrup or brown sugar and are delicious.”

Goldstein, a professor of Russian at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., was strongly influenced by simple peasant dishes when she developed her recipes. The challenging difference for her was to prepare vegetables that are long-cooked but still have texture. Her basic directions for winter vegetables produce a feast that’s as satisfying as the finest roast.

JEAN JOHO’S ROAST CHICKEN BRASSERIE JO

1 (4-pound) free-range chicken

1 cup olive oil plus 2 to 3 tablespoons for pan

1 clove garlic, lightly smashed

2 tablespoons chopped mixed herbs (thyme, rosemary, tarragon and basil as desired)

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 carrot, cut into bite-size chunks

1 small or 1/2 large celery root, thoroughly trimmed and cut into bite-size chunks

1 large turnip, pared and cut into bite-size chunks

1 onion, cut into 4 to 6 wedges

1 small rutabaga, pared and cut into bite-size chunks

1/4 cup Pinot Blanc de Alsace

2 tablespoons water

Place chicken in glass or stainless steel bowl. Add 1 cup olive oil, garlic, mixed herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Turn chicken over several times to coat with oil. Cover bowl and refrigerate 8 to 24 hours, turning chicken occasionally to coat.

Place chicken on 1 side in roasting pan coated with 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil. Discard oil and herb marinade. Add carrot, celery root, turnip, onion and rutabaga to pan. Season chicken and vegetables with salt and pepper to taste.

Roast chicken at 425 degrees 15 minutes. Turn chicken to second side, baste with pan juices and roast another 15 minutes. Turn chicken breast side up and baste and roast until chicken juices run clear when pierced with fork and vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

When done, remove chicken and vegetables from pan. Pour off fat and add wine to pan. Cook on stove top over medium-high heat, scraping up any browned bits, until wine is reduced to 2 tablespoons, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons water.

To serve, cut chicken into 4 serving pieces. Place on platter with vegetables. Pour wine mixture over chicken. Serve immediately.

4 servings. Each serving:

669 calories; 288 mg sodium; 174 mg cholesterol; 49 grams fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 44 grams protein; 1.28 grams fiber.