Roast chicken panzanella salad is an Italian classic that combines warm roast chicken with croutons and a crisp salad. The combination of these ingredients and the texture of the croutons permeated with the warm chicken juices is irresistible.
This recipe from my colleague Paul Tang uses the traditional method to prepare the dish but with a burst of Asian flavors. The chicken is seasoned with a marinade made with lemongrass and turmeric, and the salad is tossed with a dressing made from chili sauce and lime juice, while the salad features a flavorful combination of fresh basil, mint and cilantro.
Steps to Creating a Perfect Roast Chicken Panzanella Salad
There are quite a few steps to preparing this recipe and quite a few ingredients, so before you begin it’s a good idea to assemble all the ingredients. The first step is to make the marinade which only takes a few minutes, then the chicken is coated in the marinade and set aside for a few hours or overnight.
In this recipe we spatchcock the chicken, cutting out the backbone and flattening out the chicken. The benefit of flattening the chicken is for more even cooking as well as faster cooking time. Of course you can skip this step, or you could roast some bone-in chicken pieces. Cooking the chicken on the bone ensures you will have plenty of delicious pan juices to add to the salad.
The dressing and salad ingredients can also be prepared in advance for easy assembly; the carrots can also be prepared in advance, and the bread can be cubed ready to be tossed with the melted butter and cooked together with the chicken.
Convection is Key for Succulent Roast Chicken
Either the Convection Roast or Convection Bake mode will work well for cooking this meal because the heating elements of the oven cycle with enough intensity to achieve the desired results. However, convection roast heating cycles are stronger than convection bake. When you use Convection the carrots and croutons can be added to the oven while the chicken is roasting leaving your hands free to assemble the salad and dressing. Remember, foods cooked in Convection have better flavor and texture and because the heated air is circulated around the oven you can cook several dishes at one time and everything will cook evenly.
The oven will be set at 375 degrees which will work well for all the items. The chicken will need to cook for at least 45 minutes while the carrots and croutons only need about 20 minutes. As we know all ovens are different and if you have a large capacity range oven you might want to increase the oven temperature by 25 degrees for the final 10 minutes of cooking the chicken to ensure it gets nice and crisp.
Of course the chicken will need to rest for a few minutes once it comes out of the oven so allow at least 15 minutes for resting before carving the chicken.
The important thing to think about when cooking multiple foods at time is the rack positions.
If you are cooking on three racks then plan to place the chicken on the top rack, and add the carrots to the lower rack and the croutons to the middle rack. Placing the chicken on the top rack will ensure it gets nice and crispy from the direct heat of the top heating element while the fan will circulate the heat to ensure even cooking.
Chicken Panzanella is a simple recipe, but with all these ingredients and different preparation and cooking steps planning is key. Once you are organized and have the chicken, carrots and croutons in the oven the salad can be prepared and before you know it the meal will come together effortlessly. If you don’t need all the chicken for this salad then be sure to set some aside to enjoy for another meal.
Zucchini are in abundance during the summer and a good way to use them up is to bake a Zucchini Lasagna in Convection. Check out my next post to see how Convection can make the preparation easier.
Larissa, Your Convection Enthusiast