ROASTED w/ PANCETTA & BLACK OLIVES

By BobD

Ingredients

• 8 SERVINGS
• This dish works with rabbit, but it's equally appealing with chicken. Roasted with super-savory pancetta and olives, the garlicky meat stays moist in a shallow bath of white wine.
• 2 chickens (about 3 1/2 lb each), backbones cut out and each chicken cut into 12 pieces
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped thyme
• 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 (1/4-inch-thick) slices pancetta, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 24 oil-cured black olives

Details

Servings 8
Adapted from gourmet.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 450F with rack in middle.

Toss chicken with oil, thyme, rosemary, sea salt, red-pepper flakes, and 1 tsp pepper, rubbing mixture into chicken.

Arrange chicken, skin side up, in 1 layer in a 17- by 11-inch 4-sided sheet pan.

Scatter garlic and pancetta on top and roast until chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes.

Drizzle wine over chicken and roast 8 minutes more.

Scatter olives over chicken and roast until skin is golden brown and chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes more.

Let stand 10 minutes.

COOKS NOTE: To cut a chicken into 12 pieces, remove wings and cut each breast half into 3 pieces, then separate drumsticks and thighs. Backbones can be used to make chicken stock.