Back to Basics

This post and wonderful recipe are from Marjorie Taylor, a new guest blogger for Sustainable Table.

Marjorie Taylor is the proprietor of The Cook’s Atelier. She cooks and writes about food from her tiny home in Burgundy, France. See more of her writing on her blog, www.thecooksatelier.com.

As Americans, we can barely pick up a copy of our local newspaper without seeing something that points to the pressing issues concerning our troubled industrialized food system. The good news is there is a movement that is gaining ground that strengthens our communities and preserves the environment at the same time. By supporting sustainable agriculture, local farms and the simple act of returning to the table, you too can be part of this grassroots movement. With our growing concern for our health, and the health of the planet, I see no better time to get back to the basics of good food.

Good food doesn’t have to be difficult or overly time consuming. It really comes down to the care that you take in selecting the ingredients. Personally, I feel it is important to make the commitment to only use ingredients that have been produced in a sustainable way. For example, by the simple act of making sure that you use only grass-fed beef, free-range chickens and purchase eggs from pasture raised hens, you will be making the best choice for the environment. If you shop at your local farmers’ market or start a kitchen garden, you will ensure the quality of the food that you prepare for your family and at the same time you will be supporting your community. Farmers’ markets and backyard gardens bring more to the table than delicious ingredients, they are reminders of where good food comes from.

That simple premise is what I base all of my cooking on. I enjoy going to my local market, meeting the farmers and cooking with the seasons. I have a tiny kitchen garden where I plant and harvest the herbs I use, and most important, my cooking is firmly rooted in the use of real food – pure and simple. I am excited to share my experience and cooking philosophy with the readers of Sustainable Table and hope to inspire others through bi-monthly posts on seasonal cooking, gardening, and sustainable living. You just might notice that once you start paying attention to what you eat, there’s no going back. To me, living sustainably is a lifestyle and it has an impact on everything I do.

Here’s a classic to jump-start your return to the kitchen.

Roasted Chicken with Herb Jus (Read on for the recipe!)

1 medium organic onion, sliced
1 large organic carrot, sliced
4 1/2  pound organic, free-range chicken
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 thyme sprigs
2 rosemary sprigs
1 organic lemon, halved
2 tablespoons unsalted butter -1 tablespoon softened, 1 tablespoon chilled
1/2  cup chicken stock, homemade
1/2  cup dry red wine

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a medium roasting pan, arrange the onion and carrot slices in an even layer. Season the cavity of the chicken with the sea salt and pepper and stuff it with the thyme and rosemary sprigs and the lemon. Truss the chicken with cotton twine. Rub 1 tablespoon of butter all over the chicken and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set the chicken on the rack, breast side up and roast for 15 minutes.

Combine the stock and wine in a small bowl. Baste the chicken with stock and wine mixture and continue roasting for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue basting every 15 minutes. The chicken is done when the juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the inner thigh registers 165 degrees.

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes. While the chicken in resting, remove the rack from the roasting pat. Set the pan over 2 burners on moderate heat. Pour any remaining basting mixture into the pan and simmer for 2 minutes, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Strain the pan juices into a small saucepan. Skim off the fat and bring the jus to a simmer. Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the 1 tablespoon of butter until blended. Taste for seasoning.

Carve the chicken and serve on a warm platter with the herb jus.