Here is how you make life easy for yourself.
In the morning, take a whole chicken out of the fridge. Rinse and pat it dry, lightly salt it, and put it on a plate. Drink coffee and listen to This American Life on your tablet, if you so choose.
Stick that sucker in the fridge, uncovered. Just sitting there on a shelf, uncovered, hanging out. Keep it on the bottom shelf in case any juices slip off the plate.
Later, when you’re home from work and ready for a meal, remove said chicken from said refrigerator. Let it sit on the kitchen counter for a few minutes. Not long, just enough time to get the chill away from the skin. Preheat your oven to 400*F.
Pull out your eggplant. Slice it lengthwise into quarters. Using a butter knife, slather the eggplant with a little brown miso paste. Try not to go overboard but if you do, it’s no bigs.
Mix some sesame oil, honey and sesame seeds in a bowl, add a few twists from a pepper mill.
Rub that sucker down with your sesame honey goodness. Place parchment or foil in a pan, and add your chicken and eggplant.
Stick it in the oven for an hour, or until the skin is deeply brown and crispy, the eggplant have roasted through, and the temperature of the thigh meat on the chicken reads at least 165*F when you test it with a thermometer.
Bravo. You made dinner, and it took approximately five minutes of actual work on your part.
honey and sesame roast chicken
serves 4
1 whole broiler chicken, about 3-4 pounds
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon brown miso paste
___
Preheat the oven to 400*F. Rinse the chicken under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
Mix the sesame oil, honey, miso and sesame seeds together in a small bowl. Using your hands, rub the chicken all over with the sesame-honey mixture.
Roast for one hour, or until the skin is deeply brown and crispy and the meat registers 165*F with a thermometer. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
miso eggplant
1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise into quarters
2 tablespoons brown miso paste
___
Using a butter knife, spread the miso paste all over the inner part of the eggplant, leaving the skin alone. Roast the eggplant at 400*F for one hour, or until soft all the way through. Serve hot.
Not sure which size chicken to get? Here’s a handy primer from the Kitchn.
