250g butter, softened
3 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ cup tarragon, chopped
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
4 spatchcock
Soubise
50g butter
1kg yellow onions, thinly sliced
½ cup Arborio rice
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
¼ cup cream
¼ cup Swiss cheese, grated
TO SERVE: green salad
1Preheat oven to 160°C.
2 To make soubise, heat butter in a large oven proof dish over high heat until foaming. Add onions and rice, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and place in oven to cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally until rice and onions are tender and golden. Set aside.
3Increase oven to 200°C.
4Place butter, garlic and tarragon in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Stuff butter between skin and breast of spatchcock and tie legs together with twine. Place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and roast for 40-45 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
5Re-heat soubise, add cream and cheese and stir until melted. Serve spatchcock with soubise and a fresh green salad.
Tarragon and onions are the key ingredients in this recipe, bringing a savoury/umami flavour to the inherent sweet flesh of young chicken. A subtle chardonnay would work well but the extra richness of the soubise calls for a light red with Michael Downer’s latest pinot meunier just that. The colour is a pale magenta, with aromas of ripe red fruits, a fresh and breezy palate and a cleansing acid-etched finish. Tannins are in the background, though sufficient to match the potency of the soubise.