Sticky chilli roast chicken with rice salad

These sticky chicken pieces with salsa and salad are perfect for easy yet glamorous entertaining

  • Prep:10 mins
    Cook:1 hrs 10 mins
  • Serves 6
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 437
  • fat 30g
  • saturates 9g
  • carbs 8g
  • sugars 6g
  • fibre 1g
  • protein 34g
  • salt 0.63g

Ingredients

  • 6 large whole chicken leg pieces, skin on, cut into legs and thighs
  • 3 tbsp chipotle paste (I used Discovery)
  • 3 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • juice 1 lime
  • 2 onions, each cut into 8 wedges
  • 6 garlic cloves, bashed flat
  • 1 mild red chilli, deseeded, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp muscovado sugar
  • 1 tsp tomato purée
  • 200ml chicken stock
  • 400g basmati and wild rice mix (we used Tilda)
  • 400g can black beans (or use pinto or black-eye beans), rinsed and drained
  • 285g can sweetcorn, drained (Niblets have the crispest texture)
  • bunch spring onions, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp clear honey
  • 3 tsp ground cumin
  • 3 tbsp cider or rice wine vinegar
  • 6 tbsp olive oil
  • handful coriander

Tip

Chunky squash wedges
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cut 2 butternut squash into large wedges, leaving the skins on but removing the seeds. Toss with 3 tbsp oil, then roast for 1 hr until golden and soft, sprinkling with a little smoked paprika or chilli powder, sea salt and pepper with 15 mins to go.Pomegranate & avocado salsa
Finely chop 1 red onion, 1 peeled, deseeded cucumber, 2 avocados and 1 deseeded red chilli. Mix in a bowl with seeds 1 pomegranate, then loosen with juice 1 lime and 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Can be made up to a day ahead and chilled. Before serving, season and toss with a handful shredded mint leaves.

Method

  1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the chicken into a plastic food bag with 2 tbsp of the chipotle paste, all the ground coriander, 1 tbsp oil, a squeeze of lime and a grinding of black pepper. Marinate for 30 mins (up to 24 hrs). Tip into a roasting tin, scatter the onion around, drizzle with a little more oil, then roast for 1 hr until the chicken is dark golden and crisping on the top. After 30 mins, tuck the garlic in around the chicken.

  2. Lift the chicken and onions out of the tin and onto a big plate. Turn the oven to low and keep the chicken warm, uncovered. Place the tin on the hob, spoon off excess fat, then add most of the chilli and fry for 2 mins until fragrant. Stir in the sugar, tomato purée and remaining chipotle paste, then add the stock and bubble down for about 5 mins until you have a sticky sauce. Season with salt and pepper and another squeeze of lime juice. (The chicken will keep in a low oven, uncovered, for up to half an hour. You can also decant the sauce into a saucepan and reheat it.) To serve, spoon the sauce and garlic over and around the chicken and scatter with the remaining chilli. Serve with the rice salad, salsa and wedges (see below).

  3. For the rice salad, rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs clear, then boil for 15 mins until just tender. Drain in a sieve, rinse under cold water to cool quickly, then drain well and tip into a big serving bowl. Tip in the beans, sweetcorn and spring onions. Whisk together the honey, cumin, vinegar and oil to make the dressing, season, then toss through the salad. If making ahead, keep chilled. Just before serving, chop the coriander and fold it in.

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