Roast Chickens with Mushrooms
To make delicious roasted chickens, preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C). Dry the chickens inside and out, then sprinkle the inside with salt and poultry seasoning. Stuff each chicken with an onion, parsley, and celery leaves. Rub the chickens with olive oil and place them in a roasting pan. Roast the chickens until lightly browned, then add garlic, peppercorns, bay leaf, thyme, vegetables, and wine. Roast until the chickens are tender and baste them often.Remove the chickens from the roasting pan and keep them warm. Puree the vegetables and liquid in the roasting pan, then add mushrooms, tarragon, chervil, parsley, flour, chicken stock, and wine. Cook until the sauce is thick and smooth. Carve the chickens and serve them with the vegetable sauce.
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 2-5 lb Roasting Chickens - 2 2.2-kg
- Salt
- Poultry Seasoning
- 2 medium Onions - 2 medium
- 4 large sprigs Parsley - 4 large sprigs
- 2 large sprigs Celery Leaves - 2 large sprigs
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil - 60 ml
- 2 cloves Garlic, peeled and cut in half - 2 cloves
- 8 whole Peppercorns - 8 whole
- 1 Bay Leaf - 1
- 1/4 tsp Dried Leaf thyme - 1 ml
- 4 medium Carrots, sliced - 4 medium
- 2 Leeks, sliced thin (white part only) - 2
- 2 large stalks Celery, sliced - 2 large stalks
- 1 medium Onion, chopped - 1 medium
- 1/2 cup Dry Red Table Wine - 125 ml
- 1/2 cup Butter or Margarine - 125 ml
- 1 large clove Garlic, Crushed - 1 large clove
- 1 1/2 lb Fresh Mushrooms, sliced - 675 g
- 1/4 tsp Dried Leaf Tarragon - 1 ml
- 1/4 tsp Dried Leaf Chervil - 1 ml
- 1/4 cup Finely Chopped Parsley - 60 ml
- 3 tbsp Flour - 45 ml
- 1 cup Chicken Stock or 1 Cube Chicken Bouillon, dissolved in 1 Cup (250 ml) boiling Water - 250 ml
- 1/2 cup Dry Red Table Wine - 125 ml
Notes
To start, preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C). Make sure to dry your chickens both inside and out using paper towels. Season the inside of the chickens lightly with salt and poultry seasoning. Place a whole onion, two sprigs of parsley, and one sprig of celery leaves inside each chicken. Fasten the neck skin to the body with a skewer and fold the wing tips under. Tie the wings and legs together, and then rub each chicken all over with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of olive oil.
Next, place the chickens in a large roasting pan without using a rack. Roast them in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until they are lightly browned. After that, turn down the heat to 375°F (190°C).
To add more flavor, tie two cloves of garlic, peppercorns, a bay leaf, and thyme together in a small cheesecloth bag and add it to the roasting pan. Then, add carrots, leeks, celery, and chopped onions to the pan and pour in half a cup (125 ml) of wine. Continue to roast the chickens, uncovered, for about 1 1/2 hours or until they become tender. Remember to baste the chickens often.
When the chickens are cooked, take them out of the roasting pan and put them on a large, hot platter. Cover them to keep them warm. Remove and discard the cheesecloth bag, then spoon the vegetables and liquid in the roasting pan into a blender and blend until smooth. If necessary, blend the vegetables in batches. If you don't have a blender, press the vegetables through a sieve.
In a large, heavy skillet, melt some butter and add crushed garlic. Cook gently for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms, tarragon, chervil, and chopped parsley. Cook for another three minutes, stirring occasionally. Lift the mushrooms out of the pan with a slotted spoon and add them to the chickens on the platter.
Stir flour into the drippings left in the skillet, then add the puréed vegetables, a little at a time, stirring until smooth after each addition. Finally, stir in chicken stock (or a chicken bouillon cube dissolved in boiling water). Cook until the mixture boils, thickens, and becomes smooth. Stir in half a cup (125 ml) of wine and bring the mixture back to a boil.
To serve, carve the chickens and serve them very hot with the sauce made from the vegetable puree.
Nutrition
Calories: 2125kcal
