How to make Embla’s roast chicken with john’s sauce

‘Growing up in New Zealand, I would eat my mother’s classic roast lamb every Sunday,’ said Dave Verheul, head chef at Embla at Melbourne’s Crown Restaurant.

“Even when I grew up and moved to another town, I always tried to be at the front when she pulled the food out of the oven,” he writes in his new cookbook On Sunday.

“No matter what bad things you went through that week, that meal — and the conversations around it — will heal you.”

Verheul’s new collection of recipes revolve around a common theme: Sunday lunch, often seasonal or with a sense of occasion, meant for a social feast.

“While the recipes may be a little more complex than my mom’s roast, the book is about the same feeling and being able to share it with the people you love.”

Here are two recipes to try at home.

John’s Sauce Grilled Chicken

Vin Jaune is a classic French wine that’s been oxidized and aged—almost like sherry—and so intense that it’s hard to drink on its own. But with a little cream, butter, and some spices, it becomes a legendary sauce for chicken. Unfortunately, Vin Jaune is also very expensive, so we analyzed its flavor profile and gave it a more approachable name.

raw material

• 1 × 1.6 kg chicken
• 50g sherry
• 10g roasted garlic
• 10g Dijon mustard
• Soak 1g of fenugreek seeds in 20g of water overnight
• 100g chicken broth
• 20g butter

method

1. Place the chicken breast side up on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut away the wings at the joint and remove the fork bones. Cut the breasts in half lengthwise and cut down the rib cage. Lay one half of the chicken flat, skin side down, and remove the bones from the legs. Repeat with the other half. Reserve any cuts for another soup.
2. When you are ready to cook, preheat your wood-fired oven to 450°C. If this is not possible, use a gas pizza oven or convection oven at 220°C.
3. Heat a cast iron pan large enough to fit half the chicken. Lightly oil the pan and season the skin with salt. Fry over medium heat, skin side down, for 5 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden. Place the pan in the oven and bake for approx. 14 min. Remove from the pan, turn the chicken over so it’s skin side up, and bake in a warm place for approx. 58 min.
4. When ready to serve, bake the chicken in the hot oven for 5 minutes, then remove and place on a plate.
5. In the same pot that you made the sauce in, heat it over medium heat and add the sherry. Once the alcohol has evaporated, add the garlic, mustard, fenugreek (including the soaking water), stock, and butter. Bring everything to a boil until lightly colored, then season with salt. Finally, spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

supply 4

Choccy ripple-misu (aka “The Rippa”)

This dessert is a mix of classic tiramisu and the much-loved Australian chocolate ripple cake. It’s a combination of country and Italian, a bit like driving a VL Commodore through Portofino, but with the same punch. We’ll make all the ingredients, from the biscuits to the coffee and mascarpone cream. Put it in the fridge a day ahead so it has time to work.

raw material

Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 300g sugar
• 1 egg
• 200g plain flour
• 80g cocoa
• 20g instant freeze-dried coffee powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

Marsala Caramel

• 250 g Marsala wine, plus 25 g
• 200g sugar
• 900g espresso, plus 25g

Mascarpone Mousse

• 5 egg yolks
• 5g gold grade gelatin sheet
• 200g sugar
• 50 g Marsala wine

Mascarpone Cream

• 600g mascarpone
• 300g butter
• 50 g Marsala wine

Finish

• Cocoa powder, for dusting

method

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C conventional). Line several baking trays with baking paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until the mixture is creamy. Add the egg and beat until combined. Sift all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and gently beat until just combined.
2. At this point you need to decide which dish you will use for this dessert. Divide the dough into four portions and roll each portion out to the same size and shape as the final dish. The dough should be 4 mm thick when raw. Bake the cookies on the prepared tray for 6 minutes and then remove to cool.

Marsala Caramel

1. Place first three ingredients in a small saucepan and stir over low heat to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil and skim thoroughly. Cook over medium heat until thick caramel consistency, then season with second portion of Marsala and coffee. Allow to cool.

Mascarpone Mousse

1. Place the egg yolks in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Place the gelatin sheets in a small metal bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit for 5 minutes, then strain off the water. Place the sugar and 100g of water in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Turn the mixer on high speed and turn on the heat. Bring the sugar to 117°C and then slowly pour it in with the mixer running. Once all the sugar and water mixture has been added, turn the speed back to medium. Place the gelatin bowl over low heat until dissolved, then slowly pour it into the egg yolk mixture along with the Marsala wine mixture. Turn the speed down while making the rest of the mixture.
2. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and slowly add the sugar. If you don’t have a stand mixer, beat by hand.
3. To make the mascarpone cream, place mascarpone, cream, and Marsala in a bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Once all three ingredients are prepared (egg yolk mixture, egg whites, and mascarpone cream), gently fold the mascarpone cream into the egg yolk mixture and finally fold in the egg whites. Add more Marsala to taste, if desired.

Assembly

1. Take out the final dish. Work in layers, first with a layer of mousse, then with (for lack of a better word) caramel, then with a biscuit. Repeat until you have a layer of mousse, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours to allow the mousse to set and the biscuit to absorb a little. When ready to serve, sprinkle with some good cocoa powder.

supply 4

The following are edited excerpts On Sunday By Dave Verheul. Published by Hardie Grant Books. SRP $55. Photo by Kristoffer Paulsen. Buy it now