The ManicaPost
Rerai Murindiwa Cooking Diaries
Bitter and sweet herbs are used for their taste, aromatics, and garnishing dishes. Their incorporation into a dish is both scientific and artistic.
In using them, one has to achieve balance. The individual flavours for all the ingredients have to be maintained.
In this chicken recipe, we are using rosemary, thyme and lemons.
Rosemary provides a wonderful aroma that can easily overwhelm a dish if used in excess. Thyme has a pungent smell, which is spicy and acidic, and counters the sweet rosemary aroma. Lemons will provide a warm penetrating aroma that has bitter undertones while creating an incredible sweet and sour citric flavor.
Ingredients
I whole dressed chicken (1.5 Kg to 2 Kg)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoons lemon juice or juice from ½ a lemon.
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
1 ½ tablespoon thyme
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and paper to taste
Method
Cut the chicken open and dry it.
Mix the spices and herbs in a small bowl. The cumin will provide a smokey flavor and aroma. Rub the whole chicken with the herbs, both inside and outside.
Drizzle the lemon juice all over the chicken and then massage it on the chicken. Set aside for 30 minutes in a fridge as the marinade infuses into the chicken.
Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for six minutes on a gas stove and nine minutes on an electric stove.
Remove the chicken from the fridge and drizzle vegetable oil over it. Place it in the oven at the 200 degrees Celsius to sear the chicken, that is to burn the outside so that all those wonderful juices are trapped inside. After five minutes, reduce the temperature to 180 degrees Celsius.
You will know that your chicken is cooked when its juices are clear and the joints are loose.
The skin would have caramelised to a golden brown colour and there should be a bit of flaking.
Serve with rice and vegetables.
Expert tip
You can add carrots, peas, cauliflower, potatoes and onions in the oven tray to collect the chicken juices. They will get cooked and will have a chicken flavour.
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