Warm Spring Vegetable Salad with Drumsticks and Crisp Croutons

1. Prepare the vegetables before you start cooking and keep them separate as you work. Halve the onion in either direction and slice thinly; trim and rinse the vegetables or greens, then leave them whole or slice or chop as you like best. (You can do all this up to several hours before cooking; cover and refrigerate until it’s time to eat.) Cut the lemon and put it near the stove with the mustard, olive oil, and the measuring spoons.
2. Put 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot but not yet smoking, add the chicken and sprinkle with salt. Adjust the heat so the pieces sizzle without burning and cook undisturbed, until the skin browns and releases easily from the pan, 3 to 5 minutes. Continue to cook and turn the drumsticks often to help them brown in places all over, about 5 minutes more.
3. Turn the heat to medium-low, add 1/3 cup water, and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a spatula. Cover and cook until the thickest part of a drumstick is no longer pink at the bone, 10 to 15 min. (Use a small knife to cut into one and peek.)
4. While the chicken cooks, chop or tear the bread into bite-size bits. When the chicken is ready, move it to a plate, measure 2 tablespoons of the remaining oil into the skillet with the drippings and return the pan to medium heat. Fry the bread, stirring and scraping almost constantly with a spatula, until the bread is crisp in some places but still soft in others, about 5 minutes. Transfer the croutons to a serving bowl and let them sit.
5. Rinse out pan if it’s got dark bits in the bottom and get 1/2 cup water handy by the stove. Set the skillet back on medium heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Cook the onion first, stirring occasionally until it softens and starts to turn golden, about 3 minutes. Then add the vegetables, starting with the firmest vegetables first (like the radishes and asparagus) and ending with the tenderest greens. Cook and stir until the vegetables are a little bit crisper than you ultimately want them, 5 to 10 minutes depending on what you chose. To test, poke them with a fork often.
6. Raise the heat to high and stir the water into the skillet. When it starts to steam and bubble away, turn off the heat. Squeeze the juice from the lemon halves into the pan, using your fingers or a strainer to catch the seeds. Add the mustard and stir until the dressing is combined. (It’s fine if it separates a little.) Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if you like. Serve with the chicken, passing the croutons at the table.

— Recipes developed by The Bittman Project for the Economic Hardship Reporting Project