Day forty nine

Today's plate. The presentation could be better...

What is the most important for roasting?

Back to the kitchen... The feeling is like I was not there for a long time. OK, not quite, yesterday I worked, so I was there... Except for the yesterday it was a long break, since Wednesday...

Today we were doing roasting. So the menu was: roasted chicken, ratatouille, roasted potatoes, and broccolini (blanched and reheated in  butter).

Roasting is a dry heat method of cooking, usually done in an oven. During the roasting we want dry hot air circulate around the main item and cook it. For the roasting the best suited is a tender cuts of meat, poultry, and fish. When we arrange item for the roasting, we need to use pan which is not high, so the air has ability to circulate. Please remember, is you are roasting a big bird (turkey, or goose for example), there will be a lot of rendering fat, so the shallow pan may not be suitable. So just keep in mind the amount of rendering fat and other drippings.

Fat rendering during roasting and drippings are good to use to make a pan gravy (a sauce to serve with the roasted item). What is the difference between sauce and pan gravy? The pan gravy is made from the fat and drippings obtained during roasting. A sauce may be cooked using butter or oil and other ingredients, but not fat from and drippings from the roasting.

What is the most important for roasting? You should have your main item DRY. So when you place your bird or piece of meat in the oven for roasting, it does not have to spend time to dry out moisture fromt he surface. You may dry it using paper towels, or you may place it into refrigerator uncovered overnight and refrigerator will do the job.

Also what you need to do, if you do not have a special roasting pan with a rack, is to create something similar to elevate roasting item from the bottom of the pan. A couple carrots, splited in half longwise and cut  in two-three pieces will do the job.

When we roasted our chickens we used butter (or oil) to rub the skin, seasoned them inside and outside with salt and pepper, and placed some vegetables in the cavity (so the hot air will not cooked bird very quickly from outside). Them we placed them in the oven for 350 F for about an hour (our birds were approximately 2.5 pounds each). Internal temperature at the thickest part (thigh) should be 165 F. Let rest for 15-20 minutes before carving it. The resting will allow to even temperature and also allow to redistribute juices inside (during cooking in a hot oven juices are concentrated in the center of the roast).

Ratatouille (Makes 10 servings)
3 fl oz/90 mL olive oil, or as needed 
12 oz/340 g medium-dice onion 
¾ oz/21 g minced garlic 
1 oz/28 g tomato paste 
4 oz/113 g medium-dice red pepper 
1 lb/454 g medium-dice eggplant 
12 oz/340 g medium-dice zucchini 
8 oz/227 g peeled, seeded, and medium-diced tomato 
4 fl oz/120 mL Chicken Stock or Vegetable Stock, or as needed 
Salt, as needed 
Ground black pepper, as needed 
½ oz/14 g chopped herbs, such as thyme, parsley, and/or oregano 
Method
Heat the oil in a large pot or rondeau over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. 
Add the garlic and sauté until soft, about 1 minute. 
Turn the heat to medium-low. Add the tomato paste and cook until it completely coats the onions and develops a deeper color, 1 to 2 minutes. 
Add the vegetables in the following sequence: peppers, eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes. Cook each vegetable until it softens (2 to 3 minutes each) before adding the next. 
Add the stock and turn the heat to low, allowing the vegetables to stew. (The vegetables should be moist but not soupy.) Stew until the vegetables are tender and flavorful. 
Season with salt, pepper, and herbs. Serve immediately

At work I was sent to help Baking and Pastry. It was interesting to see how is everything on their side. I made scones for tomorrow breakfast. We baked just four to see if they are good, and they were... Cranberry-pecan scones with vanilla and orange zest. It was yummy.