Roast Chicken With Chicken Livers

What a lovely dish for Sunday supper or is it dinner? We made this for an Easter Sunday meal for the staff, where we waited on them, as much as we can! They enjoyed the feast which consisted of a salad of argula & baby spinach with a fruity vinaigrette, a rice ring with mushrooms, & my old standby haricots verts with sliced almonds. It was really great and for dessert we had chocolate layer cake with ganache and coffee ice cream for whoever wanted it. Not a diet friendly meal - at all!!! You can tell, I didn't plan it. However it was enjoyed by all. F&W Magazine's Food and Wine Test Kitchen, from America's Powerhouse wines, October, 2001.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 10 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 1 platter

Ingredients

• 1 (3 3/4-4 lb)  whole chickens
• 1  teaspoon  coarsely chopped thyme
•  salt
• 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 20  garlic cloves, peeled
• 2  teaspoons  coarsely crushed black peppercorns
• 1⁄4 lb chicken liver, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
•  fresh ground pepper
• 2  tablespoons  chopped gaeta  olives (we only had black olives!)
• 1  tablespoon  minced flat leaf parsley

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F
2. Set the chicken in a roasting pan just large enough to hold it.
3. Sprinkle the thyme in the cavity and season the bird inside and out with salt.
4. Tie the legs together.
5. Pour the olive oil over the chicken and scatter the garlic cloves and peppercorns in the pan.
6. Roast the chicken for about 20 minutes, or until the garlic is soft and golden.
7. Transfer the garlic to a coarse sieve set over a small saucepan.
8. Roast the chicken for about 1 hour longer, or until the juices in the cavity run clear.
9. Tip the chicken in the pan to drain the juices, then transfer the bird to a carving board and cover loosely with foil.
10. Skim the fat from the pan juices and reserve 1 tablespoon.
11. Press the garlic through the sieve into the saucepan and pour in the pan juices with the peppercorns.
12. In a medium skillet, heat the 1 tablespoon of reserved fat just until smoking.
13. Add the chicken livers, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and cook over high heat until browned on both sides and pink in the center, about 1 minute.
14. Add the livers to the pan sauce and bring the sauce to a simmer.
15. Season with salt and remove from the heat.
16. Carve the chicken and arrange on plates.
17. Spoon the sauce on top, garnish with the olives and parsley and serve.