One pot roast chicken with spelt, vegetables and Prosecco DOC

Not a recipe you would normally pair or associate with sparkly Prosecco DOC but trust me this is worth your attention.

Any one pot roast is often a home cook dream (or salvation), and this one in particular is not only easy and stress free but, with a few little tricks it really packs a punch of flavour that deliver comfort straight away.

A roast chicken with garlic and sage is well elevated with a splash of dry wine to deglaze and the same goes for grains like rice or spelt that are cooked with a soffritto base like in this case with chopped onions.

Save this one for a cozy night in this autumn and winter season!

Chef’s tips: please use chicken legs if you can, the dark meat is perfect for the low and slow cooking method. Swap the pumpkin and cavolo nero for other seasonal vegetables if you want to cook a variation of this recipe in spring or summer. This is perfect with peppers, asparagus or courgettes!

Serves: 2 // Prep time: 20 minutes // Cooking time: about 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken legs

• 300 gr of pearl spelt

• 250 gr of cavolo nero, rinsed and chopped

• 250 gr of pumpkin, cubed

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 4 garlic cloves

• 1 sprig of sage

• 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

• 1 sprig of parsley, chopped

• 300/400 ml of water

• 100 ml of Prosecco DOC

• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

To start, make sure the chicken legs are clear of any feathers and if necessary, burn them off on open fire or with a kitchen blowtorch.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and pan fry it with the garlic cloves, the sage and a good glug of olive oil. Fry on both sides for 5 minutes on medium heat making sure it is golden. Do not over turn it multiple times or you could break the meat.

Now remove the chicken, garlic and sage and in the same pan with the residual fat sweat the onion until translucent.  In 3 minutes toss in the spelt and toast for 2 minutes on medium heat as if it was a risotto. At this stage, deglaze with the Prosecco DOC, let the alcohol evaporates for 1 minute than stir in both the cubed pumpkin and the chopped cavolo nero. Mix well, season with salt and pepper and cover with hot water (just enough to cover the spelt). Bring to simmer, place the chicken back into the pot, cover with a lid (or with foil) and bake at 180 degrees C for about 25/30 minutes.

Once ready, check the chicken is fully cooked and that the water is almost all absorbed by the spelt and vegs and everything is soft and cooked thought.

If still too watery and necessary, place the pot back into the oven without the lid to reduce remaining liquids and to give more colour to the chicken legs.

Serve immediately with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and a drizzle of extra verging olive oil along with a cold glass of Prosecco DOC.