The Perfect Father's Day Dinner

 This recipe, an interpretation of my favorite dish at Lupa, is from the winter section of My Kitchen Year, but it could not be more perfect for this season.  Easy and spicy, it's just the thing when you want crisply cooked chicken - but don't feel like going to the trouble of firing up the grill.  And on this sunny Father's Day - well, it really fits the bill. I have yet to meet the man who doesn't like it.

Chicken Diavolo

Shopping list: 1 chicken, quartered, 2 large jalapeno chiles, 2 serrano chiles, 2 lemons.

Staples: olive oil, paprika, salt, pepper.

Serves 3-4.

Make chile oil by chopping the jalapeno and serrano chiles, and putting them in a small saucepan with ¾ cup of olive oil.  Add a couple of tablespoons of hot paprika.  Grind a fair amount of black pepper into the pot and steep over medium heat for about 15 minutes.  Let it sit overnight (or all day).  I prefer making my own, but if you’re in a hurry you can simply buy a bottle of chile oil.

Put a strainer over a large bowl and strain the chile oil. Slice a couple of lemons and add them to the bowl. Season with salt.  Submerge a small, quartered chicken in the oil and let it sit for at least 4 hours (and up to a day).

Heat a cast iron skillet until it’s quite hot (about 5 minutes). Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Meanwhile remove the chicken from the chile oil and pat it dry.  Sprinkle it with salt and shower it with freshly ground pepper; you need a lot. Slick the bottom of the pan with olive oil and put the chicken, skin side down, in the hot skillet. Cook until the skin is crisp and golden, which should take 8 to 10 minutes.  Turn the chicken over so it’s skin-side up.

Put the skillet in a pre-heated 500 degree oven and roast about 20 minutes, or until a thermometer registers 170 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh. 

Sprinkle with lemon juice, grind more pepper over the chicken and allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.