This is my adaptation of Nigella Lawson's[1] adaptation of someone else's Venetian Ghetto-style chicken and pasta. I don't eat raisins[2], so they've been omitted from the original recipe[3], and I like to add a little extra herbs to the roasting chicken.

Roasted Chicken over Pasta, Nigella-style

3 1/2-pound chicken [4]
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
'Italian Seasoning' spice mix [5]
Leaves from 3 rosemary sprigs, minced[6]
1/2 cup of pine nuts[7]
1 pound of fresh fettuccine[8]
fresh parsley (optional)

Preheat the oven to 450° F.

Wash the chicken and make sure you've pulled out all the giblets and the neck. Rub it with olive oil (not extra-virgin, please!) and sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, and Italian Seasoning. Place in a lightly-oiled roasting dish breast-down.

Roast for about 15 minutes at 450F. Turn the oven down to 350F after a quarter-hour. Using a probe thermometer[9] in the thickest part of the thigh, set a temperature alarm for 165F.

While the chicken is roasting, toast the pine nuts in a dry, heavy frying pan. The pine nuts should turn a light golden brown.[10]

When the timer goes off, turn the chicken breast-up and roast until the temperature on the probe is between 170 and 175. When you turn the chicken over, prep the water for the pasta.

Allow the chicken to rest[11] about five to ten minutes on a cutting board, then pull the meat off the chicken and cut into smaller pieces.[12]

While the chicken is resting, make the sauce. Pour all the juices from the roasting pan into a saucepan, and add the rosemary and the pine nuts. Begin to simmer the sauce when you're ready to cook the pasta.

Cook and drain the pasta and toss it with the sauce, chicken pieces and parsley in a large warmed bowl.


[1] Nigella has a mezzaluna.
[2] Okay, I won't eat warm raisins. I don't really have a cold-raisin issue, except I don't like them in cookies.
[3] I have no idea where the original recipe came from.
[4] A whole chicken! Not bits! And regardless of whether it was purchased fresh or frozen, it should be thawed and ready to go.
[5] Italian Seasoning (oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary pre-mixed) is one of my rare 'spice mix in a jar' purchases, and it's worth it to use in seasoning bottled tomato sauces and for sprinkling over chickens before roasting. Of course, I'm also a follower of Mrs. Dash and the Five Spice Powder.
[6] Use fresh rosemary if you have it, and use half the amount if you have to use dried. A 'sprig' is about four inches long, by the way.
[7] Pine nuts are often sold in 1/2 cup increments in the baking aisle. I'm still trying to find a good bulk source.
[8] I use fresh fettuccine rather than dried as the fresh is never as thick as dried pasta. Plus, it cooks faster, and it sometimes can be found in fun flavors!
[9] What? You don't own a probe thermometer yet? This is the best piece of kitchen equipment ever, and it's taken the scare out of roasting. Just take Alton Brown's advice and get one if you don't believe me.
[10] I usually have extra pine nuts around because I tend to forget about them and burn them. If you can smell nuts, chances are that they're burnt.
[11] Resting allows the juices to move back into the meat, resulting in a less-messy carving procedure and juicier meat. Besides, that stuff's hot.
[12] I use a big knife and a pair of tongs to accomplish this task, but your mileage may vary.

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