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    Chipotle & lime roast chicken with quick pickled onions

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    Chipotle & lime roast chicken with quick pickled onions

    A roast chicken is the surest way to trigger happy sighs around the table. To add a party vibe, we’ve dressed this bird up with spicy, smoky Mexican flavours so you can simply bring it to a table loaded with trimmings and let guests build their own tacos. 

    • Preparation time: 25 minutes + resting
    • Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes
    • Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes + resting

    Serves: 4-6

    Ingredients

    1 ½ tbsp Gran Luchito Chipotle Paste
    ½ x 25g pack coriander, stalks and leaves separated, plus extra to serve
    2 tbsp soured cream
    4 cloves garlic, crushed
    3 unwaxed limes, zest of 1, juice of all (reserving 1 lime shell), plus extra wedges to serve
    1 large chicken (about 1.5kg)
    2 tbsp olive oil
    3 red onions, 1 thinly sliced into rings, 2 halved and thinly sliced
    1 dried ancho chilli
    1 bay leaf
    3 sprigs thyme
    400g can finely chopped tomatoes

    Method

    1. Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. In a bowl, mix the chipotle paste, coriander leaves, soured cream, ½ the garlic and the zest and juice of 1 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 over the meat. Put the lime shell and coriander stalks in the cavity.

    2. Season the bird and drizzle with 1 tbsp oil. Put in a roasting tin with 4 tbsp water and roast for 1 hour 10 minutes-1 hour 20 minutes, basting every so often, until cooked through. (Insert a small sharp knife into the thigh, close to the bone; the juices should run clear and no pink meat should remain.) Remove from the oven and rest for at least 15 minutes.

    3. Meanwhile, put the onion rings in a small bowl. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and add the juice of 2 limes. Toss to coat, cover, then set aside in the fridge to lightly pickle. Boil the kettle. Put the chilli in a medium saucepan over a medium heat; cook for about 1 minute, turning a little, until toasted and fragrant. Transfer to a small bowl, cover with just-boiled water and leave to soak for 10 minutes.

    4. Put the saucepan back over a medium heat and add the remaining 1 tbsp oil, followed by the bay leaf, thyme and the 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. Add the remaining garlic to the onion mixture, cook for 30 seconds, then stir in the chopped tomatoes, chopped ancho chilli, the 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 the bay leaf and thyme stalks. Carve the chicken at the table and serve with the pickled onion, tomato sauce, extra coriander and the lime wedges, so that everyone can make up their own tacos.

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    Make it Veggie
    Chipotle & lime pulled jackfruit

    Start following the recipe from step 3. In step 4, when you add the chopped tomatoes, stir in 2 drained cans of jackfruit and the chipotle paste. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the jackfruit is tender enough to shred with 2 forks. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lime and serve scattered with coriander leaves and the pickled onions.

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