recipe LAURA CABOT, LAURA CABOT CATERING
photography KERI HERER

Wild Maine Blueberry Crisp

Serves 6
 
Filling
2 quarts wild Maine blueberries, picked over
½ cup quick-cooking tapioca (a bit more if berries are quite juicy)
½ cup white sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or to taste)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
 
A few hours before baking, combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside. This gives tapioca time to absorb liquid and “bloom.”
 
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375°F and prepare the streusel topping.
 
Streusel topping
2 cups flour
1 cup butter, cold
2½ cups light brown sugar
1 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts
1 cup crushed oats
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
 
Using a pastry cutter, combine flour and butter until butter is pea sized. Mix in other ingredients with a spatula.
 
Fill a greased 4-quart glass baking pan with blueberry filling and top with streusel mix.
 
Bake in preheated oven with a sheet pan under the baking pan to catch drips. At least once, rotate pan a quarter turn. The crisp is done when it’s browned and bubbling on top, about 30–40 minutes.
 
Serve warm with a lavish topping of Maine-made vanilla ice cream.
 
Note: Both blueberry filling and streusel topping can be made a day in advance. Place in separate containers. Both keep well in the refrigerator for a couple of days.



Roast Chicken and Tuscan Bread Salad

recipe CHEF/CO-OWNER MELISSA KELLY, PRIMO
photography SEAN ALONZO HARRIS

Serves 4

Chicken
1 large organic free-range chicken, about 4 pounds
2 cloves garlic
2 whole sage leaves
1 lemon, cut in half
3 sprigs thyme
Kosher salt or coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Vinaigrette
1 shallot, minced
¼ cup white vinegar
1½ teaspoons whole-grain mustard
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Bread salad
2 bunches arugula (about 6 cups), washed
½ loaf pain au levain
½ cup dried currants or seedless raisins, plumped in warm water
½ cup pine nuts

To roast the chicken
Preheat oven to 400°F.

Smash garlic cloves, discard skin and wrap each with a sage leaf. Between the breast and thigh of the chicken, separate the skin from the meat and slide a sage-wrapped clove into each side.

Rub the bird inside and out with the lemon halves, then place spent lemons in the cavity, along with thyme sprigs. Liberally season chicken with salt. If you have kitchen twine, use it to tie the bird’s legs together to make browning easier.

Heat a cast-iron skillet or large ovenproof sauté pan over high heat. Add oil and sear the bird all around until golden brown. Put the whole bird, still in the pan, into the oven and roast until the juices run clear or a thermometer reads 160°F. This should take about 1 hour. Reserve pan juices to mix in with salad, and allow the bird to rest on a cutting board for 15 minutes before carving.

To make the salad
In a bowl, mix shallot, vinegar, mustards, salt and pepper. Allow to macerate for about 10 minutes.

Remove crust from bread, tear into chunks (about 4 cups total), toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and toast lightly on a sheet pan in the oven, checking frequently.

Whisk in oil and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Place arugula in a bowl with toasted bread, currants or raisins and pine nuts. Add drippings from the roast chicken.

Toss everything with vinaigrette and serve alongside carved chicken.