Sometimes less is more, and after our day in Skopje we needed less! So the next morning I jumped on my bike to the local market to decide what was going to accompany our roast chicken which was on the menu for our evening meal.
I love visiting market stalls for fresh produce. While I knew I wanted potatoes, I was open to picking up anything else that caught my eye. This is what I came home with: the juiciest, sweetest, most flavorful nectarines I’ve tasted in a long time. When I bite into one, the juice literally runs down my chin. If I decide to be a bit more ladylike and cut it up, the knife slices through as effortlessly as cutting a perfectly ripe avocado.
The big find here is the fresh parsley and the beetroot!
It’s hard to find fresh herbs here. Even the dried herbs from the supermarket are different from what I’m used to—they lack the flavour I’m accustomed to, and almost all of them have added salt. I’ve also noticed that when eating out, there isn’t a wide variety of flavours available. So finding really fresh parsley was quite exciting.
I had also bought the mandatory fresh tomatoes and came home to make myself a simple lunch of white cheese, olives and tomatoes.
Roasted Chicken
I’ve roasted more chickens than I can count. For this one, I seasoned it with garlic and lemon, rubbed the skin with oil, salt, and pepper, and put it in the oven at 180°C for an hour and 30 minutes—quite generous considering the chicken weighed only 1.7 kg.
After an hour, I checked on it, but the chicken didn’t seem to be cooking as expected. I basted it and continued roasting, but after 1.5 hours, it was nowhere near done. The flesh was still very firm and compact, with pink juices running out. I put it back in for 15 minutes, uncovered, and then let it rest for another 15 minutes. Still, it was pink and undercooked.
I sliced into the breast to check further. The meat was dense and still not fully cooked, so I pan-fried the slices briefly to ensure they were done. The thighs and legs went back into the oven at 150°C for a longer, slower cook. After an hour, the chicken was finally done to perfection.
I’ve noticed that when I eat chicken here, it often turns out very dry. A friend and I were discussing this a couple of weeks ago, wondering if this is what you really get with free-range chickens, or if they’re fattened up for consumers. I’m not sure I want to know the answer. What I do know is that next time, I’ll cook the chicken on a low, slow heat rather than the times I’m used to.
I said we wanted simple, and simple is what we got. It was SOooooo good! Lemon garlicky chicken with roasted potatoes and carrots accompanied by a simple salad of cucumber and tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper and tossed in olive oil.
Leftover chicken with Tabbouleh and Beetroot salad.
The chicken that was slow cooked to perfection is ready to eat with the left over vegetables and with all that gorgeous fresh parsley what better than to make a tabbouleh and serve alongside the chicken and the beetroot which is practically begging to be combined with some white cheese and grated carrots, tossed in a light French dressing.
It was delicious.
Wanderings in North Macedonia 