Give your next roast chicken dinner a spicy twist with Angela Hartnett's 'absolutely gorgeous' recipe. The top UK chef and restaurateur recently shared an innovative take on the classic dish, combining succulent chicken with Mexican heat and pickles.
A Twist on Tradition
In a recent episode of the Dish from Waitrose podcast, Angela rustled up a roast chicken dinner for Bridgerton and Derry Girls actress Nicola Coughlan. The recipe blends the actress's favourite things: roasts, Mexican flavours, and pickles. Angela said: 'So, on Dish today… for Nicola Coughlan, I’m gonna be doing roasted chicken, cause she loves… Mexican flavours, and she loves roast, so we’ve sort of combined the two.'
The Secret Marinade
To give the chicken depth of flavour, Angela makes a smoky, spicy chipotle marinade with zesty lime, coriander, and sour cream. Gently separate the skin from the flesh with your thumb, spoon in the marinade, and push it through with your fingers without ripping the skin. Cover the rest of the chicken with the marinade, then place limes and coriander stalks in the cavity. When serving, Nicola responded: 'Wow. Yum. That smells absolutely gorgeous. Thank you so much.'
Tips for Accompaniments
Angela shared helpful tips to enhance the accompaniments. For deeper smoky heat in the salsa, swap dried ancho for half a teaspoon of chipotle chilli flakes, soak them briefly in boiling water, then stir through the tomatoes. For pickled onions, add a pinch of sugar and a splash of white wine vinegar to keep them bright and sharp.
Recipe: Chipotle & Lime Roast Chicken with Quick Pickled Onions
Ingredients
- 1.5 tbsp Gran Luchito Chipotle Paste
- Half a 25g pack coriander, stalks and leaves separated, plus extra to serve
- Two tbsp soured cream
- Four cloves garlic, crushed
- Three unwaxed limes, zest of one, juice of all (reserving one lime shell), plus extra wedges to serve
- One whole chicken (about 1.5kg)
- Two tbsp olive oil
- Three red onions, one thinly sliced into rings, two halved and thinly sliced
- One dried ancho chilli (optional)
- One bay leaf
- Three sprigs thyme
- 400g can finely chopped tomatoes
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. In a bowl, mix the chipotle paste, coriander leaves, soured cream, half the garlic, and the zest and juice of one lime; season.
- Use your fingers to gently lift the skin of the chicken breast away from the meat, then push the chipotle mixture underneath, spreading it evenly. Put the lime shell and coriander stalks in the cavity.
- Season the bird and drizzle with one tbsp oil. Put in a roasting tin with two tbsp water and roast for one hour 10 minutes to one hour 20 minutes, basting every so often, until cooked through (juices run clear, no pink meat). Remove from the oven and rest for at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, put the onion rings in a small bowl. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and add the juice of two limes. Toss to coat, cover, then set aside in the fridge to lightly pickle. Boil the kettle.
- Put the chilli, if using, in a medium saucepan over medium heat; cook for about one minute, turning, until toasted and fragrant. Transfer to a small bowl, cover with just-boiled water and leave to soak for 10 minutes.
- Put the saucepan back over medium heat and add the remaining one tbsp oil, followed by the bay leaf, thyme, and remaining sliced onions; cook for 15 minutes, until soft and golden. Remove the ancho chilli from its soaking liquid, reserving 100ml, then deseed and roughly chop (skip if not using).
- Add remaining garlic to the onion mixture, cook for 30 seconds, then stir in chopped tomatoes, chopped ancho chilli, reserved soaking liquid, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer and bubble for 12-15 minutes, until reduced to a thick sauce. Discard bay leaf and thyme stalks.
- Carve the chicken at the table and serve with pickled onion, tomato sauce, extra coriander, and lime wedges, so everyone can make their own tacos.
The Dish video has already been viewed over 2,726 times. One viewer, Andrew, commented: 'Yum! I’m 100% trying this. Fully potato recipe would be amazing to know too.' So when you're rustling up your next roast chicken dinner, try this twist at home.
