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1 large chicken, quartered, or in eighths (may also use legs and thighs only)
2 oven roasting bags. I make this in two parts, using 2 oven bags.
Pre-heat oven to 325°F.
Clean and trim vegetables, peeling or not, as preferred. Depending on their size and shape, you will need either to cut the vegetables in half, or slice them thick. Everything gets layered into the bags so THINK FLAT; you don't want anything too bulging. However, do not slice them thin, or they will disintegrate.
Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. This is easier to do BEFORE putting them into the bags.
Clean the chicken, season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, then dust the top with paprika (important for color.)
Layering: Arrange in the bottom of each bag, first the onion slices, then the zucchini, then scatter remaining vegetables. You may also add herbs if you wish. On top, arrange the chicken pieces in a flat layer. Seal the bags, slash a couple of small steam vents, then place in a baking pan.
Roast in a pre-heated oven for at least 1 hour and 20 minutes, longer if the bags are very stuffed. You can poke the bag a little to check if everything is tender. A little extra cooking doesn't hurt, however, the tempting aroma wafting from the oven will whet your appetite and your family may be eager to eat.
Remove pan from oven and open the bags carefully (there will be a lot of steam, so watch out!)
Serve the chicken together with the vegetables, and be sure to include the flavorful juices (there will be plenty.) If desired, the potatoes may be mashed together with some of the juices.
Poster's Notes:
Because I want to enjoy Chol haMoed (the intervening days of the festival) without having to spend all day in the kitchen, I try to accomplish as much advance Pesach cooking as possible, and like many, change over my Pesach kitchen several days before the holiday begins, in order to get a head start. These days are highly charged with focused labor, leaving little time or energy leftover for routine meal preparation.
Since there is a limit to how much pizza and falafel we can expect our families to consume (outside!) during these hectic pre-Pesach days, I happily share with you an easy solution I use when I need to prepare a quick and simple hot meal.
This recipe--if you can call it that--uses fresh ingredients which are readily available. (In Israel, onions, potatoes, carrots, and zucchini are essential staples and always at hand.) Preparation is uncomplicated, and there is virtually no clean-up. For very little effort here we are rewarded with awesome flavor; the results are truly delicious and provide a satisfying hot dinner. This is more of a spontaneous process, rather than a recipe, so here I will outline the basic procedure. Adapt it to your liking, using ingredients you have on hand.
Fundamentally, this is chicken and vegetables braised in a bag. NO WATER (or oil) is added. During baking the onions and zucchini release a lot of liquid, and the juices from the chicken meld, baste and flavor the layered vegetables. Potatoes provide substance, carrots offer flavor and variety. I always include contrasting colors: orange, white and green. This recipe is simple, delicious and it works... (oh, and did I mention there are no pots to scrub?)
Posted by Ruth Baks
Nutritional Info Per Serving: N/A
4 large onions, peeled, cut into thick slices
2 to 4 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
2 to 4 potatoes, peeled, cut into thick slices
2 to 4 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into thick slices if large, halved if small
2 to 4 carrots, peeled, cut in half
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika (add other herbs, if you wish)
There is implicit irony in the fact that celebrating the "Festival of Freedom" has us slaving away. Pesach preparation is labor intensive, and during the holiday week we are inundated with family and guests demanding constant meal preparation, service and clean-up. For those of us who close our (chametz) dishwashers during this time, the burden compounds.