MKR Recipe: Roast spatchcock with nduja, fresh corn polenta and grilled radicchio

‘It’s a great interplay between bitter, sweet and a little bit of sour. Big punchy flavours that work well together,’ said Matt Preston about Sophie and Katherine’s MKR main course spatchcock.

Katherine got dangerously handy with the cleaver, to get all the flavour out of the chicken wings and make an elegant Manu-worthy sauce. The Italian Sisters team were excited about the nduja – a soft spicy salami paste from Calabria. While Spanish Jose declared: ‘It’s a dish I’d expect to find in a five-star restaurant! ‘

Here’s the recipe for you to recreate it in your own Instant Restaurant at home.

Roast spatchcock with nduja, fresh corn polenta and grilled radicchio

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 1 hour

Serves: 12

 Ingredients 

6 free-range spatchcocks, 600g each, butterflied and halved, backbones and wing tips reserved

2 tbs fennel seeds, toasted and ground

3.5 tsp seasalt

4 tbs olive oil

300 g nduja, brought to room temperature to soften

200g mascarpone

Zest of 1 lemon

2 tsp thyme leaves, chopped

For the sauce

60ml olive oil

4 shallots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

Reserved backbones and wing tips, chopped

4 sprigs thyme

2 l chicken stock

8 tbs vinocotto

2 tbs red wine vinegar

4 tbs unsalted butter

For the corn polenta:

1.5kg fresh corn kernels

120g unsalted butter

500g Greek yoghurt

150g Parmesan, grated

1.8 l water

400g instant polenta

For the radicchio:

4 head of radicchio, sliced into 6 wedges

Olive oil

Sea salt

50ml vinocotto

Gremolata:

Zest of 2 lemons

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 bunches parsley, leaves only, chopped 

 

Method 

1. In a small bowl, mix softened nduja with mascarpone, 1 tbsp of the ground fennel, the lemon zest and thyme.
2. Gently separate the skin from the spatchcocks and slip half a tablespoonful of nduja mixture under the skin of each breast and thigh.
3. Mix remaining fennel, salt and oil and rub all over the spatchcocks.
4. Preheat an oven to 200 and place spatchcocks on baking paper lined trays.
5. Roast for 30 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
6. Rest, then cut in halves. 

For the sauce

1. In a non-stick frying pan, heat oil and brown spatchcock trimmings.
2. Add shallot and garlic, cover with stock, add thyme and simmer for 45 minutes
3. Strain, reduce by half, add vinocotto and season. 

For the corn polenta:

1. In a food process, blitz the corn to a paste.
2. Pour into a large saucepan, with the butter, yoghurt, parmesan, salt and water.
3. Bring up to heat, simmer for 10 minutes then lower the temperature and add the polenta, stirring for 5 minutes or until cooked.

For the radicchio:

1. Oil and season each wedge of radicchio and chargrill on a hot barbecue or in a frying pan till browned and becoming tender. Drizzle with vinocotto. 

For the gremolata:

1. Mix all ingredients.

To serve

1. On each plate, place a spoonful of polenta, a spatchcock half, and grilled radicchio on the side. Drizzle all round with the vinocotto sauce. Sprinkle with gremolata

Thinking about dessert? Complete your meal with Sophie and Katherine's MKR fig leaf semi-freddo with grilled figs and Pedro Ximinez syrup here!