Last Supper #6: Helene Darroze

Had this post not been in the Last Supper project, I would have called it Funky Chicken, where funky is good, really really good. But, alas, it is the Last Supper of Helene Darroze...

For her last supper, French chef Helene Darroze listed a number of dishes, so I constructed a menu choosing several of them. We started with cheese and crusty bread, simple, but always a favorite. For the entree, she wanted roast chicken with potato fries and the book provides a recipe for the potatoes that she loves. I used that potato recipe, but I decided to fancy-up the roast chicken because roast chicken can be a little boring (or so thinks this cook). The recipe I found was anything but boring. Prior to roasting, you slather under the skin a delightful olivada - olives, herbs, spices, garlic! Within minutes my kitchen smelled out of this world.

Roast chicken with spicy olivada is a new Epicurious favorite I'll make again and again. I used a 7-pound chicken as the recipe calls for and there was plenty of olivada - some might want a little less. I also made the pan sauce the recipe calls for and that made sure our chicken was nice and juicy, even when we had leftovers!

The potato fries were... well, potato fries. Nothing extraordinary, I must say, at least until dipped in the sauce from the chicken! I also served some green beans with a little lemon zest, butter and walnuts.

And for dessert, Helene listed two options: chocolate eclairs or shortbread with whipped cream and strawberries. I opted for the second choice since I made eclairs over the summer for a Daring Bakers' challenge.

This was a great roast chicken recipe, especially for those of you who, like me and my husband, might find roast chicken a little lackluster - especially during the holiday season when roast turkeys are popping up on everyone's dining room table...