Savour the spice: Crafting perfect Peruvian chicken at home
When you're bored with standard chicken thighs, it's time to try Peruvian-style chicken. It's a simple dish that will delight your household's taste buds. Juicy, roasted meat with accompaniments is perfect for dinner.
Peruvian-style chicken is a dish often found on the menu in South American restaurants, but in Poland, it's like searching with a candle. It's nothing more than roasted chicken served with a green sauce made from coriander, jalapeño pepper, mayonnaise, and garlic.
Peruvian-style chicken - dinner recipe
The chicken is marinated in a special spice mix that gives it an intense, aromatic flavour. The marinade usually includes cumin, sweet red paprika, garlic, lemon, and other herbs. The quantities can be adjusted to your preference.
Traditionally, the chicken is roasted on a spit over a wood fire, giving it a characteristic, slightly smoky aroma. However, you don't need to start a fire - just use a regular roasting pan.
My family loves this chicken, and there's not a drop of sauce left in the bowl. It's a delicious alternative to classic roasted meat recipes. Instead of a whole chicken, I also use whole thighs. I shorten the cooking time depending on the size of the meat.
Ingredients:
- about 1.2 kg chicken,
- 4 cloves of garlic,
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin,
- 1 heaping tablespoon sweet paprika,
- 1 tablespoon oil,
- half a teaspoon of pepper,
- half a teaspoon oregano,
- 1.5 teaspoons salt,
- zest of 1 lemon,
- juice of half a lemon
Green Sauce:
- a small bunch of fresh coriander,
- 1 jalapeño pepper (or another hot pepper),
- 1 tablespoon oil,
- 75 ml mayonnaise,
- 2 cloves of garlic,
- 1 tablespoon lime juice,
- 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Preparation Method:
- Place all the chicken spices in a bowl, add oil, juice, and zest of the lemon, and mix thoroughly.
- Rub the marinade thoroughly into the meat. Most of it should go under the skin.
- Place the marinated chicken in the refrigerator for several hours or preferably overnight.
- The next day, transfer the meat to a roasting pan or ovenproof dish and drizzle with a few tablespoons of water.
- Loosely cover with aluminium foil.
- Place in an oven preheated to 200 degrees Celsius for 50 minutes.
- After this time, remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes until the skin is golden brown.
- Place all the sauce ingredients in a blender and mix.
Divide the finished chicken into portions and drizzle with the sauce. Serve with chips or boiled potatoes and a salad. Enjoy your meal!
