Peruvian Chicken Delight (Printer-friendly)
Aromatic roast chicken with Peruvian spices and creamy cilantro green sauce for a flavorful meal.
# What You Need:
→ Chicken and Marinade
01 - 1 whole chicken (about 3 to 4 lbs), butterflied
02 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
03 - 2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce
04 - 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
05 - 5 garlic cloves, minced
06 - 1 tablespoon ground cumin
07 - 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
08 - 1 tablespoon dried oregano
09 - 1 teaspoon black pepper
10 - 1 teaspoon kosher salt
11 - 1 teaspoon chili powder, or more to taste
→ Aji Verde (Green Sauce)
12 - 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
13 - 1 jalapeño or serrano chile, seeds removed
14 - 2 garlic cloves
15 - 1/2 cup mayonnaise
16 - 1/4 cup sour cream
17 - 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
18 - 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
19 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
20 - Salt and pepper, to taste
# How to Make It:
01 - In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, soy sauce, lime juice, minced garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, black pepper, salt, and chili powder until well combined.
02 - Pat the butterflied chicken completely dry with paper towels. Rub the marinade generously over and under the skin, ensuring full coverage. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight for deeper flavor penetration.
03 - Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil and set a wire rack inside. Place the chicken skin-side up on the rack.
04 - Roast the chicken for 45 to 55 minutes, until the skin is deeply golden and crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165°F. Remove from the oven and allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving.
05 - While the chicken rests, combine the cilantro, jalapeño, garlic cloves, mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil in a blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
06 - Carve the chicken into serving pieces and arrange on a platter. Drizzle generously with the aji verde and serve any remaining sauce alongside.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The aji verde sauce is the kind of condiment you will want to put on everything from scrambled eggs to sandwiches.
- Butterflying the chicken means it cooks faster and more evenly, so every single bite gets that crispy skin treatment.
02 -
- Do not skip the drying step before marinating, wet chicken skin steams instead of crisping.
- Overnight marination is the single biggest upgrade you can make to this recipe.
03 -
- Let the chicken sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before roasting so it cooks evenly from edge to center.
- A pinch of sugar in the green sauce rounds out the sharpness of the raw garlic and lime without making it sweet.