Roasted Chicken with Winter Vegetables and Sugpo Asin

Name: Roasted Chicken with Winter Vegetables and Sugpo Asin
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients: 3 celery ribs, cut into 1-inch slices; 1 yellow onion, cut into 1-inch wedges; 2 golden potatoes, cut into 1-inch wedges; 2 golden beets, 2 turnips, or 1 rutabaga, trimmed of greens, peeled, and cut into 1-inch wedges; 2 carrots or 3 parsnips, trimmed of greens, peeled, and cut into 1-inch chunks; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 3 rosemary twigs, cut in half; 2 three-finger pinches Sugpo Asin or Ilocano Asin (or substitute sel gris); 1 chicken (about 4 pounds), visible fat removed, washed and dried; 2 tablespoons dry vermouth

December 14, 2011

The chicken is in the oven—heat forming a golden crust that seals in the juices, salt working its silent alchemy within, denaturing some of the proteins in tough muscles making those parts more tender and flavorful. Roasting is the easiest way to cook chicken and the tastiest. All that is required to reach perfection is time and the perfect salt. Sugpo Asin, a king among salts, glowing rose-cloud white, lush and firmly crunchy, with dulcet brine notes that play lavishly (but with discipline) against the sweet tamed gaminess of poultry, honors this basic meat and vegetable meal as all basic meals should be honored—asserting the preeminence of simple home cooking as the cornerstone of eating well.

Recipe notes

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