Serves: 4 – 6

Nat found this recipe and it is exceptional.

The flavours, the warmth, the whole thing is blow-away madness for a weekday meal… just ensure you marinate the chicken the night before, ditto the sauce the night before.

Just the chicken marinade alone makes the chicken taste like… anything but chicken.

Though it is the green sauce that takes the cake and brings the whole production home. It matches the big flavours of the chicken with even more big flavours.

Add to that the hot chicken contrasting with the cold sauce and you’ve smashed it on all levels.

(It sort of reminds me of the joke the boys tell me about a Coca Cola truck and a Menthos van crashing into each other.)

Anyway, well done Nat. I was a bit, ‘here is another chicken breast recipe’ though this is not another chicken breast recipe.

It is the chicken breast recipe.

More Peruvian cooking we will be doing!

Ingredients – Chicken

6 skinless chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness

Marinade/basting sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh Jalapeño, ribs and seeds removed, diced
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

Ingredients – Green Sauce

3 medium Jalapeños, ribs and seeds removed
1 tbsp Aji Amarillo paste (optional)*
1 1/4 cups tightly packed fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1/4 cup tightly packed basil leaves
3 tbsp Parmesan, grated
1 tbsp ginger, grated
1 tbsp honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lime, juiced
1 tbsp, canola oil
1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise
Freshly cracked pepper and salt to taste

Method

Chicken

1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Set aside 1/4 cup to use as a marinade when cooking
2. Place the flattened chicken into a large zip lock bag and pour in all the marinade except the reserved marinade for when grilling. Seal the bag and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
3. Heat your grill high. Grill the chicken until cooked on both sides, basting with the reserved marinade. Once cooked, rest for 5 minutes.

Green Sauce

1. Combine the ingredients except the mayonnaise in a food processor on high until smooth.
2. Add the mayonnaise and blend until completely incorporated. Season with the freshly ground pepper and salt.
3. Transfer to a jar or sealed container and refrigerate for a week.

Serving

1. Thickly slice the cooked chicken breasts. Drizzle with the green sauce.
2. Serve with… we didn’t continue with the Peruvian theme here with air fried Brussel Sprouts and hand-cut potato wedges cooked with chilli flakes, though anything will go. The chicken and the Green Sauce are your hero.

* Apparently you can find this sauce online and apparently it does add an extra level of oomph. We loved it without – as many others have commented – though if you can get, you’re all the better for it we are told.