Fire-Roast Chicken with Maize Cakes

Fire-roasted chicken rubbed with thyme and sage, served with simple hot-water maize cakes. It echoes the shared fowl and cornmeal cooking of the 1621 Patuxet harvest gathering, as this chapter remembers from Mourt's Relation.

Serves 4

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Ingredients

• 1 (about 4 lb) whole chicken
• 2 cups cornmeal
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 4 leaves fresh sage
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. 1Preheat oven to 425°F. Rub chicken with oil, half the salt, pepper, chopped thyme, and sage.
2. 2Place chicken in a cast-iron skillet with quartered onion; roast 50-60 minutes until internal temperature reaches 165°F.
3. 3Meanwhile mix cornmeal, hot water, remaining salt, and oil into a thick dough; form into small cakes.
4. 4Heat remaining oil in a skillet over medium-high and cook maize cakes 4 minutes per side until golden and toasted.