Cardamom Kick
I've got enough cardamom in my system to be Scandinavian at this point! I can't get enough of this spice - especially in the fall!
Combined with some of my new favorite kitchen do-dads, it's basically going to be a Fall-foods celebration from here until eternity.
My new favorite sidekick: My giant skillet!
One thing I will never get sick of is a roasted chicken (Ina and I are soul mates that way)... and this Food52 recipe for a cardamom and yogurt roasted chicken is one of my absolute favorites!
There's a pretty huge wave of accomplishment that washes over you when you pull this thing out of the oven and look at it in all of its glory. This is the result of the pretty gory (but fascinating to me) process of butterflying a chicken, grinding spices by hand, lovingly slathering a yogurt spice rub over the thing you've just butchered, and finally having the patience to wait for it to flavor up overnight and then having to cook. But IT IS WORTH IT PEOPLE.
Why butterfly the bird? To butterfly (aka spatchcock) is the process of preparing the chicken so that it lays flat and cooks faster. It also makes it a heck of a lot easier to cut, serve, and consume! I go the extra step of taking out all of the bones other than what keeps the wings, thighs and drumsticks in tact. People will be very impressed with you.
This chicken is no doubt the star of the show - I always serve it with simple things with very little flavor added because all of that juice that settles at the bottom of the skillet? You're going to want it on everything.
You Will Need:
seeds from 6 cardamom pods
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
3 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup whole milk yogurt*
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 3-4 pound chicken, butterflied
Grind cardamom seeds and peppercorns in a mortar with pestle to a fine powder. Add salt, coriander, cumin and garlic. Smash the garlic. Add olive oil to form a paste, then stir in the yogurt, ginger and lemon juice.
Place chicken in a large bowl or pan. Rub yogurt between the skin and breasts and thighs. Then smear the remaining yogurt over the outside of the chicken, front and back. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours. Remove the chicken from refrigerator 30 minutes before roasting.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken breast-side up in baking pan or cast iron pan. Bake in oven until thoroughly cooked, about 45 minutes to an hour. Remove and let rest 15 minutes before carving.
*no one in the world has whole milk yogurt, so I found a 2% greek yogurt that I used and it was fine. It was more than fine.
I also make some butternut squash ravioli with my new pasta machine - another new favorite gadget of mine (can you tell that I'm single and have nothing better to do with my time yet?) and threw some cardamom in that as well.
And finally pumpkin spice doughnuts with cardamom :)
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