Jerk Chicken With Rice & Peas
Bring a taste of the Islands to your school canteen with this Caribbean classic, bursting with warming spices and robust flavours. It’s a steel drum band’s worth of deliciousness, as Jerk chicken meets aromatic rice and peas, juicy mango salsa and rice flour flatbread.
Created by Michael Goulston, LACA School Chef of the Year 2018.
- Hard
- Serves 12
Method
Ingredients
Ingredients
Jerk Chicken
- 1 large bunch spring onions, chopped
- 4g fresh ginger, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 small onion
- 2 red chillies (seeds optional)
- 1 tsp dried thyme (or 1 tbsp leaves)
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari – Gluten Free)
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 lime
- 12 chicken thighs
- 12 skewers
Rice Flour Flatbread
- 130g rice flour (grind Tilda Brown & White rice to form a fine flour)
- 285ml water
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp oil, for water
- 2 tbsp oil, for dough
Mango Salsa
- 2 mangos, peeled, seeded, small diced
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell peppers
- 3 spring onions, chopped
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander
- 1 fresh jalapeño chilli pepper
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Rice & Peas
- 200g Tilda Brown & White rice
- 400g coconut milk
- 1 bunch spring onions, sliced
- 2 large sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 300ml cold water
- 810g can kidney beans, drained
- 1 lime, roasted in oven
Method
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For the Jerk Chicken - To make the Jerk marinade, mix all the ingredients (except ½ lime and chicken) in a food processor and blend to a purée. If you’re having trouble getting it to blend, keep turning off the blender, stirring the mixture, and trying again. Eventually it will start to blend up – don’t be tempted to add water, as you want a thick paste.
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Taste the Jerk mixture for seasoning (add more chillies if more heat is required). If it tastes too salty and sour, try adding in a bit more brown sugar until the mixture is well balanced.
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Make a few slashes in 12 chicken thighs and pour the marinade over the meat, rubbing it into all the crevices. Cover and leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.
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To cook in the oven, heat to 180˚C/160˚C Fan/Gas Mark 4. Put the chicken pieces in a roasting tin with 1 lime halved and cook for 45 mins until tender and cooked through.
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For the Rice Flour Flatbread - In a pot boil 285ml water. When it comes to the boil, add salt and 2 tsp of oil and mix, then bring it to low heat.
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Pour in the rice flour, mix and turn off the heat.
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Cover the dough and put it aside for 5 minutes so that it absorbs the water and becomes soft.
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Move the dough from the pot into a big bowl and mix well with a spoon. When it cools a little knead it to a soft dough. Add 1 tbsp of oil and knead it until smooth, then cover and keep aside for 25 minutes.
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Add the remaining oil and knead the dough till smooth.
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Let rest and divide into equal size balls.
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Roll balls into thin discs and fry in a hot frying pan. When it starts to bubble flip over until it bubbles and then remove from the heat and serve.
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For the Mango Salsa - Mix all the ingredients in a medium bowl, then cover and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.
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For the Rice & Peas - While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rice & peas. Rinse the Tilda Brown & White rice in plenty of cold water, then tip it into a large saucepan.
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Add the coconut milk, spring onions, thyme, garlic and ground allspice.
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Season with salt, add 300ml cold water and set over a high heat. Once the rice begins to boil, turn it down to a medium heat, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
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Add the kidney beans to the rice, then cover with a lid. Leave off the heat for 5 minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed.
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Squeeze the roasted lime over the chicken and serve with the rice & peas.
