Chef Micah Wexler grew up with great food in his family, which inspired him to take the career path of becoming a chef.
Growing up in North Hollywood, he was introduced to great cooking by his mom, dad, and grandmothers.
“Everyone had very different styles and I was always around food and big holidays and cooking,” he explained. “Growing up in the Valley you had great Mexican food and Thai food and all these flavors that meld in with those flavors of home, I think it’s like a cool culinary upbringing.”
He also has a new passion, which is chickens!
He just launched a new company called Pasture Project, which is pasture-raised heirloom chicken.
Wexler says these chickens are “the best most sustainable earth-friendly well-raised chickens you can get.”
The brand does whole spatchcocks and boneless, skinless breasts.
They’re marinated in three different flavors and seasoned, so customers can just take it out of the package and cook right away.
“I say if you can turn on your oven, you can cook Pasture Project,” he laughed. “It’s super straightforward and it’s delicious every time.”
The chickens themselves are raised in California and customers can order directly from the website.
The James Beard-nominated chef showed Jessica a recipe to use one of the chickens, which is the Roasted Smokey Red Chicken.
The recipe includes the flavors of a mixture of sweet potatoes, broccolini, oyster mushrooms and onion alongside a Pasture Project spatchcock chicken.
This segment aired on California Cooking with Jessica Holmes, Episode 162.
Roasted Smokey Red Chicken and Vegetables: Courtesy of Chef Micah Wexler and Pasture Project
Ingredients
1 Pasture Project spatchcock chicken (choose your favorite flavor!)
2 cups oyster mushrooms (loosely broken into chunks)
1 Yellow onion, sliced into large chunks
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, cut in ½” dice
1 bunch broccolini, cut in 2” pieces
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Cooking steps
- Allow fully defrosted chicken to sit on the counter for 1 hour and come to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 425(use convection if you have it)
- In a large bowl combine all the vegetables, olive oil, salt, and pepper and mix to thoroughly coat.
- Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and place all the vegetables on it. Lay the chicken on top of the vegetables with the skin/breast side up. Pour any extra juice in the bag over the top of the chicken.
- Place the pan in the middle of the oven and roast according to the directions on the back of the package.
- Allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes after cooking, carve and enjoy!
