Grilled Chicken, Roasted Purple Cauliflower, and Roasted Garlic Mashers

I forgot to take photos of all my food for What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW). *cue the wah-wah*

Someday I’ll learn. I ate the same green chocolate cake smoothie for breakfast, leftover spicy garlic pork and cabbage, dahl, shredded carrot salad, and curried sweet potato over brown rice from Mum’s Kitchen for lunch, and cheese stuffed meatballs sautéed with peppers, olives, and spinach over pasta for dinner [recipe to come]. And some Dolcetto. You can’t have a recipe from La Cucina Italiana without Italian wine, right? So good.

I’ve been to the gym three days in a row–twice at lunch and then last night. It feels so good to be back! It’s almost like I wasn’t gone for a little over a year. Most of the staff has changed [sad], but a lot of the same faces are there working out. I’m [still] the only girl who likes to use free weights. I have no qualms grabbing a barbell or dumbbells and a bench and doing my thing. The hardest piece of equipment to get your hands on are the boxes for plated box jumps. They’re clearly all the rage. The hardest part about working out at lunch is getting myself presentable to go back to the office. Sometimes I just can’t stop sweating. Lovely.

Remember when I said I spatchcocked my first chicken? Well, here it is. I had been doing some reading on how it’s one of the most efficient ways to grill one, and this video made it seem really easy to do. And it was, sorta. Getting the force behind the kitchen shears to really cut through the thing was kind of a pain. Then, the breastbone broke off halfway. It probably took three times longer than it needed to. That’s probably the story of my life. I coated it in a heavy spraying of olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder on both sides and let it sit in the fridge while I diced up the cauliflower and potatoes for the sides.

I started by roasting a head of garlic that I could mash with with the potatoes. It’s really easy–lop the top off, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, and roast in the oven at 450º for about 30 minutes. I added the cauliflower to the same oven after it was tossed in more olive oil and some cumin and salt [can you tell I like cumin lately?]. Note: roasting purple cauliflower will result in really burned looking cauliflower even though it’s totally not. I bought it because it was sooooooo pretty the only cauliflower at the store. It still tasted amazing [and like regular cauliflower], but it didn’t look pretty at all. It actually matched the totally burned chicken skin. Yeah, I burned the chicken. Spatchcocking it reduces the cooking time for a reason, placing all of the chicken so much closer to the heat source, but I should have babysat it a little more while it was on the grill. I gave it 15 minutes on one side before going out to check it. I should have checked it at 10. Whoops. I tried to think of it like searing the outside to lock in the juices, and I didn’t really want to eat the skin anyway [that I just seasoned the heck out of]. So I flipped the bird, turned the heat down, and let it sit for another 10-15. The result was a super moist, juicy bird. It just didn’t look pretty until I tore the skin off. Learn from my mistakes. At least the mashed potatoes looked nice. Redeeming quality!

Ingredients

• 4lb chicken, spatchcocked [see video]
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• cumin
• cayenne pepper
• garlic powder
• 1 head of garlic
• 1.5lbs red potatoes, chopped, skin on
• milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into uniform pieces

Preparation

1. For the Chicken: Make sure the bird is patted dry with a paper towel. Either spray or rub on a layer of olive oil to all sides. Coat liberally with salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne, and garlic powder. Allow to sit in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Heat grill to medium—about 400º. Try to make a space where the burners aren’t on directly beneath the bird. Place it skin side down and close the lid. Check after 10 minutes. The skin should be dark and crispy. Watch for flare ups, that chicken fat is notorious for that. Flip the bird and close the lid. Cook for another 10-15 minutes until the internal temperature is 165º or the juices run clear when pierced. Remove from heat and tent with foil for 10ish minutes before serving.
2. For the Cauliflower: Preheat oven to 450º. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or aluminum foil/parchment. Toss the cauliflower in a bowl with olive oil, salt, and cumin until everything is evenly coated. Spread out on the prepared baking sheet. Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Using a spatula, stir the pieces around. Leave in the oven for another 15-20. They should be nice and crispy.
3. For the Potatoes: Preheat oven to 450º if you haven’t already done so. Lop the top off the head of garlic so the cloves are exposed. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap in aluminum foil. Place in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Place the chopped potatoes into a pot and cover with enough water so it’s about a half inch above the potatoes. Heat the water to a boil. Cook the potatoes in the boiling water until they are easily pierced with a fork. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot [or a new bowl if that’s your thing]. Peel the roasted garlic cloves and toss into the potatoes. Add a tablespoon of butter, a splash of milk, and a health pinch of salt and pepper. Using a potato masher or fork, mash together until desired consistency. Taste test. Add more milk, salt, or pepper as you see necessary.