To toast the fennel seeds, heat them in a small dry skillet over medium, stirring often, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until fragrant. Ask your butcher to cut the chicken into leg, thigh, and breast/wing portions, or substitute an equal weight of chicken parts.
How to Make It
Place garlic, onion powder, fennel seeds, oregano, salt, paprika, vegetable juice, and oil in the bowl of a food processor. Puree until it forms a rough paste. Place chicken pieces in a resealable plastic bag. Add the paste to the bag, and rub the marinade all over the chicken pieces. Seal the bag, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours.
Place 1 rack in middle of the oven and another in top third of the oven. Preheat oven to 400°F.
Remove chicken from the bag, and arrange the pieces on a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven on the middle rack, and roast for 30 minutes.
Toss diced bread cubes with oil and 1/2 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano in a large bowl. When chicken has roasted for 30 minutes, remove baking sheet from the oven, and scatter the bread cubes around the chicken pieces. Return to oven, this time on the top rack, and cook 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until the bread is toasted and the chicken is golden brown and registers 160°F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven, and let chicken rest for 10 minutes.
In the same large bowl used for the bread cubes, combine tomatoes, fennel, basil, lemon juice, toasted bread cubes, the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano, and all of the juices from the cooked chicken tray. Add a bit of oil, if needed, depending on the amount of juice from the chicken, and toss well. Serve the bread salad alongside the roasted chicken.
Adapted from Giada’s Italy. Copyright © 2018 by GDL Foods Inc. Published by Clarkson Potter/ Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.