Roast Chicken with Salsa Madre, Swiss Chard and Pumpkin
User Reviews
4.9
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Prep Time
50 mins
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Cook Time
2 hrs
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Total Time
2 hrs 50 mins
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Servings
4 servings
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Mexican
Roast Chicken with Salsa Madre, Swiss Chard and Pumpkin
Description
This recipe features a whole chicken roasted with lemon, onion, and garlic to keep it moist and flavorful. As it cooks at 200°C (400°F), the skin crisps while the flesh remains juicy. The accompanying Salsa Madre is made by slowly sautéing onion and garlic, adding Pasilla and Ancho chiles, tomatoes, herbs, cumin, sesame seeds, raisins, and chicken stock, then simmering and blending into a smooth sauce with a balance of heat and sweetness.
The vegetables include diced celery root, pumpkin, red onion, and Swiss chard stems, which are sautéed to provide earthiness and freshness alongside the chicken and salsa. This combination offers a full meal with bold flavors and varied textures.
The salsa can be prepared in advance and keeps for up to a week, allowing for easier meal prep. Letting the roasted chicken rest before serving helps redistribute juices for optimal tenderness.
Ingredients
CHICKEN
- 1 chicken whole
- 1/2 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 lemon
SALSA MADRE
- 4 Pasilla chile
- 4 ancho chile
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tomato chopped in quarters
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 4 cups chicken stock
VEGETABLES
- 1 piece celery root
- 1/2 pumpkin
- 1 red onion
- 4 swiss chard stem
Instructions
Chicken
- Put 1/2 an onion (cut into 6 pieces), 3 whole cloves of garlic, 1 lemon (cut in half) inside a whole chicken.
- Truss the chicken (tuck the wings behind the bird’s back; grasp the bird’s wings and tuck them behind the bird’s back) and put in an oven at 400° Fahrenheit/ 200°C for 45 minutes uncovered, or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 180° Fahrenheit/ 80° C.
- Let it rest for 30 minutes before serving.
Salsa Madre
- Chop onion and garlic and place in a large pan with 1 tbsp of oil over low heat.
- Sautee for 10 min until soft, then add chiles and cook for 3 min.
- Then add tomatoes, oregano, cumin, and sesame seeds and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Add raisins and chicken stock and cook for 25 minutes.
- Blend very well and season with salt and serve.
- Sauce keeps a week.
Vegetables
- Cut the celery root and pumpkin into 1/2 inch (1 ⅓ cm) squares. Cut the onion into large pieces.
- In a medium sized pan, add the celery root and onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add the pumpkin and place in the same oven as the chicken (at 400 degrees Fahrenheit/ 200°C ) for 15 minutes until vegetables are tender.
- Meanwhile, roughly chop the Swiss chard stems.
- Take the pan out of the oven and add the Swiss chard and with the residual heat from the pan, the Swiss chard will cook. After 10 minutes remove into a serving bowl.
Plating
- Put the salsa en madre on the bottom of the plate then add chicken on top.
- This way you maintain the beautiful crisp skin of the chicken, as well as you control your sauce to chicken ratio!
Notes
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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