# Chicken tray bake 'alla Pugliese'



## di reston (Oct 21, 2017)

I've been sorting out the hundreds of handwritten recipes I've collected over the years, and came over this - OH really liked it, and it's one of those dishes where a little goes a long way:

1 whole fresh chicken, about 1 and a half to two pounds in weight, cut into eight to ten pieces
very finely chopped onion and fresh garlic, about 2 onions
chopped fresh parsley
2 bay leaves
fresh thyme 
Fresh lemon juice
about 4 medium or a little bit more potatoes, cut into chunks, suitable to cook right with the chicken.
Fresh mushrooms, especially wild ones, to taste - I like a lot
bacon cubes, to taste
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and black pepper

The method is pretty standard:
sweat off the chopped onions and then add the chicken pieces, then the herbs and lemon juice, then scatter the potatoes and the mushrooms over it all, also the bacon cubes and finally the grated parmesan, which you may wish to do at a later stage, or not at all. You experts will know exactly what to, if the recipe appeals to do!

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast     Oscar Wilde


----------



## Aunt Bea (Oct 21, 2017)

Thanks, 

This recipe reminds me of an old Italian American dish that appeared at large family gatherings, I wonder if it may have originated in Puglia and been modified when it came to America.

Some people call it Chicken Murphy, not sure why.

Chunks of Italian sausage, potato, chicken pieces, peppers and onions roasted together in the oven.  

Many variations exist but I just cut everything up toss it in olive  oil, add some garlic, salt and pepper then roast it for an hour or so at  400 - 425 degrees.  When it's done and everything is tender I hit it  with a shot of red wine vinegar or some fresh lemon juice.


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Oct 21, 2017)

This sounds really good!


----------



## GotGarlic (Oct 21, 2017)

This does sound good. I'm a little confused about the method, though. The title is "tray bake," so it's cooked on a sheet pan, right? Do you sweat the onions in another pan, then move them to the sheet tray and add the other ingredients? Or somehow do it all on the sheet pan? 

Lots of people lurk (read but don't post) or just come across recipes in a search, so I would go ahead and describe the method for people who are not experienced cooks.


----------



## buckytom (Oct 21, 2017)

Aunt Bea said:


> Thanks,
> 
> This recipe reminds me of an old Italian American dish that appeared at large family gatherings, I wonder if it may have originated in Puglia and been modified when it came to America.
> 
> ...



Oh, I love Chicken Murphy. 

I'd agree that it was an Italian dish that Irish Americans tossed in some leftover bangers and renamed it.

Although, the one di posted Is a definite "must try", for it's authentically Italian ethos of straight-forwardness.


----------



## caseydog (Oct 21, 2017)

GotGarlic said:


> This does sound good. I'm a little confused about the method, though. The title is "tray bake," so it's cooked on a sheet pan, right? Do you sweat the onions in another pan, then move them to the sheet tray and add the other ingredients? Or somehow do it all on the sheet pan?
> 
> Lots of people lurk (read but don't post) or just come across recipes in a search, so I would go ahead and describe the method for people who are not experienced cooks.



A tray bake uses a roasting pan, so it is more like roasting than baking. You generally put everything in the roasting pan (tray) with some oil and roast it in the oven. 

I found a photo online of something similar to Di Reston's recipe, I believe...

CD

.


----------



## di reston (Oct 22, 2017)

Yes. Italians love tray bakes ('al forno'). I do too. I find that the recipe I posted goes down very well with OH. I've noticed also that Italo-American recipes like this are more opulent, whereas in Italy they go towards frugal. The example I give of this was when OH and I were invited to dinner with friends, and there 12 of us round the table. The lady of the house had bought a 2lb chicken. She invited me into her kitchen, to show me what she was going to put on the table as her 'pezzo forte'. The other items - those in this recipe - seemed frugal too. But I can tell you now, that when it came to dishing up, there was plenty for everybody and nobody went hungry. I couldn't believe it, and still don't, but it works out that way for me as well, and that's one of the things about ordinary no-frills Italian that I really like, but it still amazes me. I try it out with friends, and it still works!

Now for doing the tray bake:

When you do a tray bake, first thing you need is a good size oven tray with no sides to speak off - lke the tray you use when you keep things, or cook things on the barbecue. You need to get something (very tender meat, sausage, chicken, or something like like. The rest is made of what's in season. At the moment, mushrooms are, pumpkin, bell peppers are always in, but use yellow/red peppers or green bell peppers, according to the way you're going to season you're accompanying veg. Potatoes cut into 3" pieces and parboiled help. This is a dry bake, so you wouldn't use sauces of any kind, rather 2 or 3 whole plum tomatoes, torn and scattered around your creation. Don't go too lavish, it overthroes the flavours. Have a creative session, and let's see what we can share together!

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast     Oscar Wilde


----------



## GotGarlic (Oct 22, 2017)

Thank you, di. So you're referring to a sheet pan


and not a roasting pan?


I've made a few dishes like this. Now that the weather is getting cooler, it's the perfect time to make them again.


----------



## di reston (Oct 22, 2017)

Gotgarlic, you've got it  in one! It needs to be a shallow tray to avoid too much liquid formation. If the concept appeals to you, you will find them useful, easy and tasty, and you can do any type of tray bake as your fancy takes you because this type of cooking is very versatile. The other thing is, once you've got it in the oven, you only need to check it once or twice, and you can get on with other things. Glad you like the concept.

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast   Oscar Wilde


----------



## di reston (Oct 22, 2017)

It's the sheet pan. That's what we use, for that and many other things!


di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast    Oscar Wilde


----------



## caseydog (Oct 22, 2017)

di reston said:


> It's the sheet pan. That's what we use, for that and many other things!
> 
> 
> di reston
> ...



I would make a huge mess with a sheet pan. The rendered fats and vegetable juices would be all over the inside of my oven -- mostly from me trying to remove the pan of cooked food from the oven. 

Is there some reason this could not be made in a roasting pan? Something with higher sides than a sheet pan, for those of us who are not particularly graceful? 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic (Oct 22, 2017)

caseydog said:


> Is there some reason this could not be made in a roasting pan? Something with higher sides than a sheet pan, for those of us who are not particularly graceful?



You can make it in a roasting pan, but what you're missing is that the sheet pan, with the low sides, allows for more evaporation. So there will be less liquid to spill and the food will have more caramelization. It will also cook faster because there's more exposed surface area.


----------



## GotGarlic (Oct 22, 2017)

Also, there are lots of possibilities other than chicken, which does release a lot of liquid during roasting. Here are some examples: http://www.cookinglight.com/recipe-finder/sheet-pan-dinners


----------



## taxlady (Oct 22, 2017)

But, I'm still trying to understand the browning of the meat and the sweating of the onions part. Is that done in a skillet or is it done on that sheet pan. If on the sheet pan, how?


----------



## Cooking Goddess (Oct 23, 2017)

It's easy, *taxy* - cut things up, toss them together, put them on the sheet pan, stick them in the oven. Wait. Remove - and stuff your face! 
I've been sheet-roasting vegetables in the oven for a long time now, and sometimes add in the meat. For cut-up chicken, sometimes the onions will get a little caramelized by the time the chicken is done, but they're good that way. Maybe the edges of some veggies might char, but they're good that way. However, if you don't want crispy broccoli florets by the time the chicken would be done, toss them into the pan part-way through the roasting process. Or you could par-roast the chicken, then add the veggies to the tray.

I do toss my ingredients with a bit of oil before I put them on the tray, but that's what works for me. 

*Casey*, dont' worry, you won't slop. I'm clumsy and I do sheet pan dinners. There really isn't enough juice in the pan to have it spill all over. In fact, IF you would want to make a gravy, you would need to add water or broth to the pan after you take the food off, scrape it up, and pour it into a pan to cook/thicken.


----------



## Cooking Goddess (Oct 23, 2017)

Oh, and I don't chop my onions, I slice them into quarters or eighths, depending on the size. I cut them vertically, top to bottom. If you want more char, or more fully cooked onion, you can probably cut the onion in 12 or 16 pieces. I also toss in all the usual veggies: carrots, a bit of celery, etc. All in two-bite pieces.


----------



## taxlady (Oct 23, 2017)

Cooking Goddess said:


> It's easy, *taxy* - cut things up, toss them together, put them on the sheet pan, stick them in the oven. Wait. Remove - and stuff your face!
> I've been sheet-roasting vegetables in the oven for a long time now, and sometimes add in the meat. For cut-up chicken, sometimes the onions will get a little caramelized by the time the chicken is done, but they're good that way. Maybe the edges of some veggies might char, but they're good that way. However, if you don't want crispy broccoli florets by the time the chicken would be done, toss them into the pan part-way through the roasting process. Or you could par-roast the chicken, then add the veggies to the tray.
> 
> I do toss my ingredients with a bit of oil before I put them on the tray, but that's what works for me. ...


No, I meant this specific recipe, not sheet roasting in general.
"The method is pretty standard:
sweat off the chopped onions and then add the chicken pieces, ..."

Okay, I guess it doesn't say to brown the chicken, but it does say to sweat the onions and that's usually done in a skillet with some oil or fat. I wouldn't consider it "sweating" if I just threw the onion pieces on a sheet and roasted them.


----------



## Cooking Goddess (Oct 23, 2017)

Oops, *taxy*, I guess I went off track. I guess you'll need to wait for *di* to answer that question.


----------



## di reston (Oct 23, 2017)

The way I was taught to do a sheet pan was as follows: have meat like chicken, or something on the bone, cut up into small sizes - about 4"x4", or a little bit larger. Cut the onions into strips vertically so they look like crescent moons, width about 1/4 inch. Cut your potatoes, and other vegetables into sizes suitable to be ready at the same time as everything else. If you'r using toms, don't use toms in juice, just plum tomatoes. Scatter these over the top. If you're going to deglaze with wine, don't use too much, just enough to give a zing to the dish, but nothing to make it sloppy or too liquid, remembering all the time - and I know perfectly well that you all would have got that in one by now. The juices from the meat will ooze out and flavour the rest of the ingredients. If you're going to do a dusting of Parmesan or toasted breadcrumbs, do it just before the end, to allow the cheese to melt and the breadcrumbs a little something crunchy. The shallowness of the tray will keep the level of liquid down. The sheet pan I did was as follows: Chicken, cut into pieces of about the volume of a chicken drumstick, and set out on the pan. Add your seasoning and herbs what you use is for you to decide. It's great to get creative! I added  wild mushrooms to my sheet pan because they're now in season, and the liquids seep out. The onions will soften. If you want, you can add a little white wine, but only a drop, so as not to make the bake too liquid with the mushroom juice, but give a nice zing.

That's just about it! I first came across these when I went to Rome for 3 years to the University. All the trattorie did them. Back then, working folk would go to their favourite trattoria for lunch everyday, and I remember the trays of different types of tray bake and how colourful they were. While I remember, oven temperatures: about 80°C until you can see that it's done - that's an eyeball job!

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast     Oscar Wilde


----------



## tenspeed (Oct 24, 2017)

di reston said:


> While I remember, oven temperatures: about 80°C until you can see that it's done - that's an eyeball job!


I think you lost a digit.  Do you mean 180 C (or 356 F for us Yanks)?


----------



## di reston (Oct 24, 2017)

Dash!You're absolutely right! I always seem to make mistakes like that! As you keep an eye on it, you will know whether or not  it needs adjusting either way a little bit. Thanks for picking me up on that!

di reston

Enough is never as a feast     Oscar Wlde


----------



## taxlady (Apr 3, 2019)

I finally got around to trying this. I had to make some modifications, because I don't eat potatoes or cooked tomatoes. I used a chicken leg cut into thigh and drumstick. I used carrot, onion, celeriac, and turnip. It was delicious, but there was almost no liquid, just a few drops here and there. Why would that be? Any suggestions?


----------



## dragnlaw (Apr 4, 2019)

taxy, The tomatoes you're omitting would add a fair amount of liquid. 

Also a whole chicken has more fat than just legs and thighs.  If your chicken legs were whole, as in 'with back bone', roast that back bone as well and reserve after cooking to make stock. 

 A squiggle of oil half way thru roasting would help if you found it a bit too dry.


----------



## taxlady (Apr 4, 2019)

Thanks for the suggestions Dragn. No, it wasn't dry at all. And, I do realize that the tomatoes would have added liquid, but it's not worth it to me to hurt the next day.


----------



## dragnlaw (Apr 4, 2019)

LOL - no, no, I knew why you left them out.  I too have problems with my arthritis.  Luckily tomatoes are not a big trigger for me - at least not yet.  Greens, spinach, asparagus, etc. Shellfish are the worst.  Naturally all my favourites. 

There are times I just go ahead and eat them anyhow - then suffer the next day.


----------



## taxlady (Apr 4, 2019)

I bet there would have been more liquid if I had remembered to add 'shrooms to that tray. I even have a bunch of portobellos. Oh well.


----------



## dragnlaw (Apr 4, 2019)

very possibly, plus mushrooms are on the good side of the list for arthritis!


----------

