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26 November 2009
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Take on the Takeaway
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Prep time
20 mins
Cooking time 30 mins

Ingredients

For the rice and peas
25g/1oz butter
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
100ml/3½ fl oz light coconut milk
100g/3½ oz basmati rice
½ x 410g/14oz can kidney beans (do not drain)
1 sprig fresh thyme
½ tsp salt
310ml/11 fl oz boiling water
1 green bird's-eye chilli (or ½ Scotch bonnet pepper)

For the jerk chicken
2 tbsp mild jerk seasoning
1 tbsp soy sauce
2-3 tbsp tomato ketchup (or barbecue sauce)
1 tbsp clear honey
2 boneless chicken breasts, skin on
2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the plantain
30g/1½ oz butter
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large ripe plantain, skin removed, cut on the diagonal into slices 2cm/¾ in thick

For the salsa
½-1 red chilli, finely chopped
½ small ripe pineapple, peeled and finely chopped
½ lime, juice only
½-1 tbsp sugar
2.5cm/1in piece fresh ginger, grated (optional)
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

Step -by-step

Frying the spring onions and garlic
1. For the rice and peas, heat the butter in a saucepan and gently fry the spring onions and garlic. Don't allow them to brown.
Adding the coconut milk
2. Add the coconut milk and bring to the boil.
Adding the chilli
3. Stir in the rice, the kidney beans (along with the liquid in the tin), the thyme, salt and boiling water. Add the chilli, then stir, cover with a lid and bring back to the boil.
Fluffing lightly with a fork
4. Once it's come to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until all the liquid's absorbed and the rice is tender. Fluff lightly with a fork to separate the grains, cover and leave to stand.
Mixing to a paste
5. For the jerk chicken, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Place the jerk seasoning, soy sauce, tomato ketchup (or barbecue sauce) and honey into a bowl and mix to a paste.
Making incisions in the chicken
6. Use a sharp knife to make four or five deep cuts at an angle across the skin-side of the chicken breasts.
Brushing the paste over the meat
7. Brush half the jerk paste over the chicken with a pastry brush.
Brushing with the paste during cooking
8. Brush a baking sheet with half the vegetable oil. Place the chicken breasts onto the baking sheet and drizzle with the remaining oil. Transfer to the oven and roast for 25 minutes. Brush with the remaining jerk paste during cooking.
Removing the chicken from the oven
9. For the last five minutes of cooking, place the baking tray at the top of the oven, where the temperature's hottest, to brown the chicken. Check the chicken's cooked through - there should be no pink when you cut into it
Frying the plantain
10. For the plantain, heat the butter and oil in a pan over a medium heat, add the plantain and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side until golden-brown. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
Adding the coriander and mint
11. For the salsa, place the onion, chilli, pineapple, lime juice, sugar and ginger, if using, into a pan and heat gently for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool, then stir in the coriander and mint.
Ainsley Harriott's Caribbean jerk chicken
12. To serve, place the chicken onto serving plates with some rice and peas, a few slices of plantain and a spoonful of salsa. Serve with Irish stout punch.

Chef Euton Jones

Chef Euton Jones has the following advice to give your Jerk chicken a spicy kick:

1. When cooking 'rice and peas' tie together a few sprigs of thyme with string and place in the pot with the rice. This will give it added flavour and can be easily removed before serving.

2. When cooking jerk chicken, try spooning some lager or Guinness over the chicken during the cooking to keep it moist and to add flavour.

3. For the extra-special kick in a dish of Jamaican jerk chicken, add Scotch bonnet chillies to the 'rice and peas'. Before adding to the rice, gently squeeze the chillies to release the oils that contain the heat.

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