Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken
This Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken (pollo a la brasa) is juicy, super flavourful, a little spicy and cooked to perfection. Served with an equally delicious and easy-to-make Ají Verde (green sauce) and fresh garden salad, it's the ultimate chicken dinner.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
For the Ají Verde (Green Sauce):
- ¾ cup avocado oil mayonnaise
- Zest and juice 1 lime
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 green onions
- 1 whole jalapeño
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
For the Roast Chicken:
- 2 tablespoons ají amarillo paste
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- Juice of ½ lime
- 3 cloves garlic finely grated
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon dry oregano
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
- 3 to 4 chicken quarters around 3 pounds total, substitute 1 whole chicken, preferably spatchcocked
For the Garden Salad:
- ½ head of iceberg lettuce thinly shredded
- 1 to mato thinly sliced
- ½ English cucumber thinly sliced
- ¼ red onion thinly sliced
- 1 avocado thinly sliced
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
Instructions
For the Ají Verde (Green Sauce):
- In a blender, combine the mayonnaise, lime zest, lime juice, garlic, green onions, jalapeño, cilantro, salt and pepper. Blender over high speed until completely smooth. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and lime juice, as desired. If you would like it spicier, add more jalapeño. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Leftovers can be refrigerated up to 5 days.
For the Roast Chicken:
- In a large bowl, combine the ají amarillo paste, olive oil, vinegar, coconut aminos, lime juice, garlic, cumin, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Add the chicken and toss everything to coat. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 425F. Line a sheet pan with foil for easy clean up and set a wire rack in the middle.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and shake off any excess. Place the chicken on the wire rack, skin-side up, and transfer to the oven. Roast until the chicken is golden brown and the thickest part of the meat registers 165F, around 45 minutes. Switch the oven to broil and cook, rotating the sheet pan as needed, until the skin is lightly charred and slightly crispy, around 3 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest 5 minutes before serving with the Ají Verde sauce and Garden Salad.
For the Garden Salad:
- On a platter or in a bowl, layer the lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion and avocado. Before serving, drizzle with olive oil and red wine vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.