Zuni Cafe’s roast chicken and bread salad is one of San Francisco’s, if not California’s, most iconic dishes. And understandably so: perfectly roasted chicken on top of a bed of dressed salad and croutons soaked in chicken dripping. In my low-waste version, I make the dressing mainly from the chicken fat and without olive oil, and roast the bird on top of the bread, so it absorbs as much flavour as possible.
A low-waste version of Zuni Cafe’s roast chicken and bread salad
This dish is a lesson in Californian simplicity. By seasoning the chicken two to three days in advance and keeping it in the fridge uncovered, you more or less air-dry the bird, making the meat more flavourful and the skin crisper. Inspired by Victoria Glass, who makes salad dressing from the fat rendered from roast meat, I’ve adapted Zuni Cafe’s recipe by making my dressing mostly with the chicken dripping, rather than olive oil.
If need be, ask a butcher to spatchcock the chicken for you; they may even salt it for you, if you don’t fancy air-curing the bird in your fridge. When storing chicken uncovered in your fridge, of course be extra careful that it doesn’t come into contact with any other foods, to avoid cross-contamination.
Serves 6
1 small chicken (about 1½kg), spatchcocked
Sea salt and black pepper
300g stale bread
3 tbsp olive oil
35g pine nuts
4 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely sliced
35g currants or raisins
45ml white- or red-wine vinegar
80g mixed salad leaves, ideally some of them bitter – I used baby spinach and radicchio
Using your fingertips, loosen the skin from the breast and thighs of the chicken, generously season the bird all over with sea salt, including under the skin, then put in the fridge uncovered for 48-72 hours.
Take the chicken out of the fridge two hours before you want to cook it. Heat the oven to its highest setting – 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9 or higher. Tear the bread into large cubes, put these in an ovenproof frying pan with two tablespoons of olive oil, and toss to coat. Put the chicken breast side down on top of the bread, and roast for 30 minutes. Flip over the chicken, so it’s now breast side up, then baste and return to the oven for 20 minutes, until the skin is crisp and the juices run clear.
In a small roasting tin, toss the pine nuts, spring onions and garlic with a drizzle of olive oil, then roast alongside the chicken for the last eight minutes of cooking. Transfer the croutons to a bowl and leave the chicken in the warm pan to rest.
Meanwhile, soak the currants or raisins in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain. Chop the chicken into large pieces, and set aside. Pour all the chicken fat and the cooking juices into a large bowl, whisk in the vinegar, then add the pine nut mixture and drained currants, and season to taste. Add the mixed bitter leaves and croutons, toss to coat, then transfer to a platter. Top with the roast chicken pieces and enjoy.
