Truffled Roasted Organic Chicken

A classic truffle pairing. A top quality organic bird is in order here. Slice truffle finely and slip the slices under the skin of the chicken before roasting, spreading them all around.  Roast at 375 for 45 minutes to 1 hour until done.  Deglaze the roasting pan with a little white wine or home-made chicken stock for a nice jus.

Benedictine Monks' Roasted Pheasant with Port

(start preparation 2-3 days in advance)

While this may seem an extravagant dish for men of the cloth, especially given the quantity of truffles called for, black truffles were far more common 200 years ago than they are today.  This dish originates from the Monastery of Alcantara in west-central Spain.  Variations of this famous concoction abound in both French and Spanish cookbooks.  This version is an adaptation of the recipe by Penelope Casas in her landmark work, The Foods and Wines of Spain.  It is also fabulous with a good organic chicken.

4-8 ounces black truffles

1/2 liter tawny port

1 pheasant, 2- 2 1/2 pounds

Salt, preferably fleur de sel

Freshly ground black pepper

4 duck or chicken livers, veins removed and chopped

4 tablespoons butter

Dice one half of the truffles.  In a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup of the port to a simmer and gently poach the sliced truffle pieces for 10 minutes.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over the duck livers and inside the cavity of the pheasant.  Puree the duck livers in a blender or food processor with a little butter, if necessary, until smooth.  Add the chopped truffle pieces to this mixture.  Fill the cavity of the pheasant with this mixture and truss.  Place the bird into a large zip-lock bag, along with both the cooked and remaining uncooked port and remove most all the air from the bag. Place bird and bag in a large bowl, zipper up, and refrigerate for 2-3 days, turning occasionally.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Remove pheasant from bag and pat dry, reserving port marinade.  Place the bird in an appropriately-sized roasting pan.  Lightly butter the skin of the pheasant, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and begin roasting.  Roast for 45-55 minutes or until thermometer inserted into the breast registers 135 degrees.  Bird will continue to cook slightly after being removed from oven.

While pheasant is roasting, dice remaining truffles into 1 cm cubes.  Gently simmer the truffles in a small saucepan with the reserved port marinade, for 10 minutes.  After the bird has been in the oven for 40 minutes, add the truffles and marinade to the roasting pan and cover the pan with foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Slice the bird in half and serve over a bed of roasted or mashed new potatoes, with a generous helping of the pan juices.

Serves 2.