When I lived in San Francisco, my go-to neighborhood restaurant was the classic Zuni Cafe. I’d take the parents, go for a glass of wine after work or on a date night, and almost always order the legendary Zuni Cafe Chicken Bread Salad.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
In The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, chef Rodgers insinuates this dish is just roast chicken over deconstructed stuffing, but that’s not doing it justice. It feels almost like it could be the result of an accomplished home cook’s happy accident: where the most perfect roast chicken rested on a vinegary bread salad, and the sum ended up way more delicious than the parts.
The combination of techniques for roasting the chicken (dry bringing the chicken (i.e., salting it a day ahead, cooking it at high heat in cast iron) is so spot-on that you might make it your go-to roast chicken method. But then you add in the charred bread bits, the vinegar-soaked currants, the softened garlic, and the spicy greens, and, well, it’s classic San Francisco food at its best: unfussy, fresh, and comforting.
Recipe Ingredients
These are the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe:
- whole roasting chicken
- fresh thyme marjoram, rosemary, or sage
- Sea salt
- ciabatta bread or another slightly stale open-crumbed bread (not sourdough)
- extra-virgin olive oil
- champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
- currants
- red wine vinegar
- pine nuts (can substitute pistachios or slivered almonds)
- garlic cloves
- scallions
- chicken broth or water
- baby arugula friseé, or mustard greensÂ
How To Make The Zuni Cafe Chicken Bread Salad
These are the instructions to make this recipe:
- Dry Brine The Chicken: Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Cover loosely and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 2 days.
- Start The Bread Salad: Toast bread chunks, then mix with olive oil and vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Toss some of this tart vinaigrette with the torn bread in a wide salad bowl; the bread will be unevenly dressed.
Place the currants in a small bowl and moisten with the red wine vinegar and warm water. - Roast The Chicken: Preheat the oven and a roasting pan over medium heat. Roast the chicken until the juices run clear and the skin is crisp.
- Finish The Bread Salad: While the chicken is roasting, toast the pine nuts, saute the garlic and scallions, and mix with the bread and currants. Warm the bread salad in the oven.
- Serve The Chicken And Bread Salad:Â Rest, then carve the chicken. Toss the bread salad with the salad greens and serve.Â
About Zuni Cafe
Restaurants like San Francisco’s Zuni Cafe are like the LBD of the food world – romantic enough for date night, polished enough for a work dinner, and relaxed enough to be a neighborhood joint.
The iconic Zuni Cafe is a must-visit when you travel to California, and why it’s been going strong for more than 40 years. But if you are not in California at the moment and can’t wait to have a similar experience, here is this recipe that will give you an amazing taste of what to expect from this cute Cafe.
The chef who brought acclaim to this once sleepy cafe was Judy Rodgers, and she infused it with an only-in-the-Bay-Area globally visioned but locally grown food perspective. Though there are many dishes on the Zuni Cafe menu that have such a fan base that they’re always on the menu – the burger! the house-cured anchovies! that ricotta gnocchi! – this recipe for Zuni Cafe Chicken Bread Salad is far and away from the all-time MVP.
What To Serve With This Recipe
This Zuni Cafe Chicken Bread Salad is a meal unto itself. But, if you wanted to do a multi-course meal, you could serve first-course dishes before it, like:Â
- Tahini Carrot Soup With Zatar Croutons
- Chestnut Gnocchi with Robiola Bosina Sauce
- Classic Gruyere Cheese Souffle
Tips To Make Zuni Cafe Chicken Bread SaladÂ
Use A Smaller Chicken
As you can see in the ingredient list, you’ll want to use a smaller chicken (around 3 pounds) so that you end up with a good ratio of chicken to ingredients. If you can’t find that small of a chicken, use a larger chicken and just don’t serve all of it, or use a smaller bird like a Cornish Game Hen.Â
Mix Up The Salad Greens
Any spicy or slightly bitter greens will do so mix it up based on what you can find be it mustard greens, tatsoi, or a mix of chicories.Â
Use Raisins Instead Of Currants
If you can’t find currants, use raisins. However, if you have a choice, opt for currants as they provide the perfect amount of vinegar-y fruitiness to the dish.Â
Use Gluten-Free Bread
Make this recipe gluten-free by using a loaf of quality gluten-free bread.Â
Go stock up on all your cooking essentials then head into the kitchen, make this, and share it with us by tagging @saltandwind and #swsociety on social!
Frequently Asked Questions
Zuni Cafe's Chicken Bread Salad is renowned for its unique combination of textures and flavors. It features crusty, golden-brown bread chunks, dressed with a balanced vinaigrette, mixed with various seasonal greens, and often served with roasted chicken. The salad is celebrated for pairing the comforting, hearty elements of bread with the fresh, crisp ingredients of a traditional salad.
 Zuni Cafe Bread Salad is best enjoyed fresh, but you can prepare components beforehand. Roast the bread and prepare the vinaigrette ahead of time, but combine them with the greens close to serving time to maintain the bread's crispness and the greens' freshness. If you're planning to include roasted chicken, it can also be cooked in advance and reheated before serving.
Zuni Cafe Bread Salad pairs wonderfully with roasted meats, especially chicken, its classic accompaniment. The salad's robust flavors and textures also complement lighter proteins like grilled fish or tofu, making it versatile for pairing with a variety of main dishes. For wine enthusiasts, a crisp white wine or a light-bodied red wine can complement the salad's hearty yet refreshing nature.
Zuni Cafe Roast Chicken With Bread Salad Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 whole roasting chicken from 2 3/4 pound to 3 1/2 pounds
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme marjoram, rosemary, or sage
- Sea salt
- 8 to 12 ounces ciabatta bread or another slightly stale open-crumbed bread (not sourdough)
- 6 to 8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 to 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon currants
- 1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts (can substitute pistachios or slivered almonds)
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves slivered
- 1/4 cup scallions (about 4) including a little of the green part
- 2 tablespoons chicken broth or water
- A few baby arugula friseé, or mustard greens (or any other spicy greens)
Instructions
- Dry Brine The Chicken: Remove and discard the lump of fat inside the chicken. Rinse the chicken and pat it very dry inside and out. Be thorough—a wet chicken will spend too much time steaming before it begins to turn golden brown.Approaching from the edge of the cavity, slide a finger under the skin of each of the breasts, making 2 little pockets. Now use the tip of your finger to gently loosen a pocket of skin on the outside of the thickest section of each thigh. Using your finger, shove an herb sprig into each of the 4 pockets.Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper (we use 3/4 teaspoon sea salt per pound of chicken). Season the thick sections a little more heavily than the skinny ankles and wings. Sprinkle a little of the salt just inside the cavity, on the backbone, but don't otherwise worry about seasoning the inside.Twist and tuck the wing tips behind the shoulders. Cover loosely and refrigerate (for at least 24 hours and up to 2 days for the larger chickens).1 whole roasting chicken, Sea salt, 1 tablespoon currants, 1 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- Start The Bread Salad: Preheat the broiler. Cut the bread into a couple of large chunks. Carve off all of the bottom crust and most of the top and side crust (reserve the top and side crusts to use as croûtons in salads or soups). Brush the bread all over with olive oil. Broil very briefly to crisp and lightly color the surface. Turn the bread chunks over and crisp the other side. Trim off any badly charred tips, then tear the chunks into a combination of irregular 2- to 3-inch wads, bite-sized bits, and fat crumbs. You should get about 4 cups.Combine about 1/4 cup of the olive oil with the Champagne or white wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Toss about 1/4 cup of this tart vinaigrette with the torn bread in a wide salad bowl; the bread will be unevenly dressed. Taste one of the more saturated pieces. If it is bland, add a little salt and pepper and toss again. Place the currants in a small bowl and moisten with the red wine vinegar and warm water. Set aside.8 to 12 ounces ciabatta bread, 6 to 8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 1 to 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- Roast The Chicken: Preheat the oven to 475°F. Choose a shallow flameproof roasting pan or dish barely larger than the chicken, or use a 10-inch skillet with an all-metal handle—preheat the pan over medium heat. Wipe the chicken dry and set it breast side up in the pan. It should sizzle.Place it in the center of the oven and listen and watch for it to start sizzling and browning within 20 minutes. If it doesn't, raise the temperature progressively until it does. The skin should blister, but if the chicken begins to char or the fat is smoking, reduce the temperature by 25 degrees.After about 30 minutes, turn the bird over (drying the bird and preheating the pan should keep the skin from sticking). Roast for another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on size, then flip back over to re-crisp the breast skin, another 5 to 10 minutes. Total oven time will be 45 minutes to an hour.
- Finish The Bread Salad: While the chicken is roasting, place the pine nuts in a small baking dish and set in the hot oven for a minute or two, just to warm through. Add them to the bowl of bread.Place a spoonful of the olive oil in a small skillet, add the garlic and scallions, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until softened. Don't let them color. Scrape into the bread and fold to combine. Drain the plumped currants and fold them in. Dribble the chicken stock or lightly salted water over the salad and fold again.Taste a few pieces of bread—a fairly saturated one and a dryish one. If it is bland, add salt, pepper, and/or a few drops of vinegar, then toss well. Since the basic character of bread salad depends on the bread you use, these adjustments can be essential. Pile the bread salad in a 1-quart baking dish and tent with foil; set the salad bowl aside. Place the salad in the oven after you flip the chicken the final time.2 tablespoons pine nuts, 2 to 3 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup scallions, 2 tablespoons chicken broth, 1 to 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- Serve The Chicken And Bread Salad: Remove the chicken from the oven and turn off the heat. Leave the bread salad to continue warming for another 5 minutes or so.Lift the chicken from the roasting pan and set on a plate. Carefully pour the clear fat from the roasting pan, leaving the lean drippings behind. Add about a tablespoon of water to the hot pan and swirl it.Slash the stretched skin between the thighs and breasts of the chicken, then tilt the bird and plate over the roasting pan to drain the juice into the drippings. Set the chicken in a warm spot (which may be your stovetop), and leave to rest while you finish the bread salad. The meat will become more tender and uniformly succulent as it cools.Set an ovenproof serving platter in the oven to warm for a minute or two. Tilt the roasting pan and skim the last of the fat. Place over medium-low heat, add any juice that has collected under the chicken, and bring to a simmer. Stir and scrape to soften any hard golden drippings. Taste—the juices will be extremely flavorful.Tip the bread salad into the salad bowl. (It will be steamy-hot, a mixture of soft, moist wads, crispy-on-the-outside-but-moist-in-the-middle wads, and a few downright crispy ones.) Drizzle and toss with a spoonful of the pan juices. Add the greens, a drizzle of vinaigrette, and fold well. Taste again.Cut the chicken into pieces, spread the bread salad on the warm platter, and nestle the chicken in the salad.A few baby arugula
