Jerk chicken with rice & peas

Prepare

1. 🥄To make the jerk marinade, combine all the ingredients in a food processor along with 1 tsp salt, and blend to a purée.
2. 🔥If you’re having trouble getting it to blend, just keep turning off the blender, stirring the mixture, and trying again.

Steps

1. 🔥Eventually it will start to blend up – don’t be tempted to add water, as you want a thick paste.

Prepare

1. 🧂Taste the jerk mixture for seasoning – it should taste pretty salty, but not unpleasantly, puckering salty.

Steps

1. 🍳You can now throw in more chillies if it’s not spicy enough for you.

Prepare

1. 🫇If it tastes too salty and sour, try adding in a bit more brown sugar until the mixture tastes well balanced.

Steps

1. 🍽️Make a few slashes in the chicken thighs and pour the marinade over the meat, rubbing it into all the crevices.

Prepare

1. 🌿Cover and leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.

Cook

1. ✨If you want to barbecue your chicken, get the coals burning 1 hr or so before you’re ready to cook.
2. 🥄Authentic jerked meats are not exactly grilled as we think of grilling, but sort of smoke-grilled.
3. 🔥To get a more authentic jerk experience, add some wood chips to your barbecue, and cook your chicken over slow, indirect heat for 30 mins.
4. 🧂To cook in the oven, heat to 180C/160C fan/gas
5. 🍳Put the chicken pieces in a roasting tin with the lime halves and cook for 45 mins until tender and cooked through.

Prepare

1. 🥄While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rice & peas.

Steps

1. 🔥Rinse the rice in plenty of cold water, then tip it into a large saucepan with all the remaining ingredients except the kidney beans.

Prepare

1. 🧂Season with salt, add 300ml cold water and set over a high heat.

Cook

1. 🍳Once the rice begins to boil, turn it down to a medium heat, cover and cook for 10 mins.

Steps

1. 🫇Add the beans to the rice, then cover with a lid.
2. 🍽️Leave off the heat for 5 mins until all the liquid is absorbed.

Cook

1. 🍽️Squeeze the roasted lime over the chicken and serve with the rice & peas, and some hot sauce if you like it really spicy.