Another day, another roast chicken.
You’re probably sick of seeing roast chicken on this site at this point, but I’m not quite sick of eating it. It’s such simple, humble food, and I never tire of its juicy perfection — especially when you nestle potatoes underneath so that they poach in the dripping chicken fat).
So this time I focused my attention on the other dish of the night: a creamy spinach-leek gratin blanketed with homemade breadcrumbs and pecorino. I love how the milky jade hue of the leeks looks mixed in with flecks of dark emerald spinach, and the flavors mingle just as happily.
I tried to keep this “light”, too; saute two chopped leeks in a pan with (only a bit of) butter, olive oil, garlic and some shallots. fold in three huge cups of chopped spinach and let it wilt down (aided with a splash — I promise just a splash — of luscious heavy cream) in a small pool of lemon juice and homemade chicken broth. Pile the tangle of vegetables into a (lightly) buttered baking dish and top it all with a mixture of fresh breadcrumbs, grated Pecorino, minced parsley, salt and pepper. I let my gratin bubble away in the oven for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees, but I have to admit that even writing about how I did it feels counter-intuitive; it’s exactly the kind of dish that shines without a recipe.
