There is something magical about a chicken cooking, turning and turning in a rotisserie. My husband used to sit mesmerized in front of the TV ad with meat and chicken cooking in the rotisserie, until we got one. As you may have guessed, the first two or three month we only ate roasted meats, then we cooled off. But it is still a favorite. I still get a twinkle in his eyes when I announce that today we are having something cooked in the rotisserie. For me it's still a favorite because cooking in the rotisserie, like the slow cooker, gives me all the freedom to do other things around the house. All it takes is for me to marinate whatever I'm cooking for 30 minutes, put it in the rotisserie, turn it on and go on with my life. Since it's Sunday, I am cooking for the whole week, or at least I am preparing a couple of meals to cover two or three days of the week. So, I'll prepare the chicken, cook something quick for today and see what else I can do for the week ahead. I decided to make a quick pasta dish to use the beautiful mushrooms I got the other day from the market. My meal and my blog today are the easiest and shortest ever. You don't need a recipe for that!
ROTISSERIE CHICKEN
Next to buying the chicken from the store around the corner, this is the easiest way to cook a chicken (and it's tastier too!!). I know I sound like I am making an ad for the rotisserie, but it is really true. Get a nice whole chicken, clean and trim the fat from the chicken cavity, rinse it under cold running water and pat it dry. Sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper (I use Adobo seasoning) and a splash of lime juice if you want. Rub the chicken with some more seasoning and let it marinate for 30 minutes. Put the chicken in the rotisserie and set it according to the instructions. I usually give it 15 extra minutes, just the time for the machine to reach the proper heat. When the time is up, let the chicken stand for 5 minutes or so before you remove it. Transfer to a platter and serve.
FARFALLE WITH MUSHROOM SAUCE
While the chicken is doing its thing in the rotisserie, bring some water to a boil in a large pot. In the mean time, clean the mushrooms with a moist paper towel, and remove the stems, then slice them. For this dish I had some regular white mushrooms, they were huge, firm and beautiful. I also had some dried mushrooms. I put 2 cups in a bowl, added boiling water to cover and let them re-hydrate. You can use any kind of mushrooms you like, fresh or dried. Remember my pasta rule: a handful for each person plus one extra. So I added the pasta to the boiling salted water. In a large non stick pan add 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture. On medium high heat, cook the onion mixture until translucent then add the fresh mushrooms. Don't add any salt yet, we don't want them to sweat and render their liquid, I need to brown the mushroom slices. When they are wilted down and browned you can add some salt and pepper. Drain the re-hydrated mushrooms, if you are using them and add them to the pan. Stir for 3 minutes then add the liquid from the mushrooms. Make sure that you didn't add the whole bowl, because usually dried mushrooms leave some particles (like sand) on the bottom, and we don't want to add that to the sauce. If you have some sauce left from a previously roasted meat, add it to the sauce and let it simmer until it thickens. You may add a tbsp of flour to make it thicken quicker.
If you want to cheat a bit because you don't have any leftover brown sauce, you can use one or two tbsp of powdered gravy or some granules or a cube of beef stock. Serve over the pasta.
Toss and add some grated cheese if you want.
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