Piri Piri Chicken - Portuguese Chicken with a Spinach Sauce and Roasted Tomaotes

Piri Piri Chicken is a Portuguese Preparation for chicken that is mostly grilled out over a hot charcoal grill and is traditionally served with roasted potatoes. I first became familiar with this dish from a show I was watching on HBO in which one of the characters opens a restaurant in San Francisco and served Piri Piri Chicken from a recipe his father had used when was a boy and his dad had had a small take away shop.

This past week when contemplating what to do with a whole roaster I had purchased and needed to use I decided to try and use this bottle of piri piri Sauce made by Wildly Co. that was a Chritmas gift from a friend. So I researched a recipe and found one on Epicurious.com. I decided to adapt it to a roasted version of this bird and boy was I glad I did. I may never go back to the old way I made Roasted Chicken. Well that's till I decide I want to try something else!

I marinated the whole bird for a day and half then roasted it basting the bird with a glaze of more sauce and butter till the bird was a lovely color and the flavor was amazing when we tried it. So here's a little recipe for you. One thing to note the Piri Piri Chile Sauce you can buy is very hot. Even the medium version has quite a bit of heat so that's something to consider when buying the sauce. Enjoy!!
Piri Piri Roasted Whole Chicken with Spinach Sauce and Roasted tomatoes

Ingredients:

For Marinade

1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup olive oil
1 cup piri piri chile sauce
4 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 cup chopped Cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Couple of dashes of hot sauce if you want it hotter than your Piri Piri Sauce

Mix together and rub all over chicken inside and out and place the chicken in a marinating bag and leave in the fridge overnight turning every few hours.

Glaze

1/2 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cup piri piri chile sauce
1/4 cup chili sauce (Heinz style)
Dash or two of hot sauce (Tabasco or your favorite)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Mix in a pot on stove then let cool it should be thick to stick to the bird

Preheat Oven to 450 degrees

Remove chicken from the fridge and let sit out for about an hour
Remove form the marinade and discard marinade
Place chicken in a roasting pan or large skillet
Slather with some of the glaze
Roast for 50 mins till done
About 30 mins into the roast slather with more glaze till the 50 mins are up
Slather the chicken with remaining glaze and shut oven door and let sit for 10 mins
Remove from the oven and serve right way

For Spinach sauce

2 lbs. Frozen spinach (not chopped)
Thaw and squeeze out water
In a pot bring 1 cup of whole milk to a boil and then add 2 teaspoons garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Add 1 cup cream cheese at room temperature stir until melted and combined with the milk
Add the spinach and let simmer in the sauce for about 20 mins
Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed

Roasted Tomatoes

Place Roma Tomatoes into the oven topped with a little olive oil salt and pepper with the chicken when you put it in. Bake until done and juicy about 20-25 mins
Remove and cool

Serve it up in the skillet if you want as shown or you can put it on platters and bowls and serve to pass about the table. Enjoy Ya'll

"Farratto" Ancient Roman Grains with BCT Toppings

Farro the grain of ancient Rome, the wheat of the Caesars. It been around and used in Italy forever. It's delicious and earthy and hearty and very tasty. And it can be prepared a variety of ways. I mean you can just boil it and then mix in whatever you would like. And there is a very popular recipe move happening in the food media in the last 5 years that uses Farro in the place of rice in making risotto. And why not it's delicious. Farrotto the non rice risotto.

Here I've taken a recipe from Nigella Lawson for mushroom farrotto and added a topping of fresh tomato, Cauliflower Brussels Sprouts as well as browned mushrooms and bacon. This recipe was inspired by a photo and post made by a chef I know from Facebook. So here is my wintry dish with a bit of fresh that makes this dish a great year round food you can make for your family and friends.

Here it is:

Vegetable Farrotto

• 1/2 cup dried porcini
• 1/2 cup recently boiled water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large leek (washed and trimmed), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 2 3/4 cups pearled farro (perlato)
• 1/4 cup Marsala
• 5 cups broth, vegetable, chicken, or porcini
• 8 ounces crimini mushrooms
• sliced leaves from a few sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup ricotta
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 cups red and yellow grape tomatoes halved
• 1 cup blanched small cauliflower florets also halved
• 4 brussels sprouts blanched and sliced thin
• 1 pint mushrooms sliced and browned fat drained
• 1/4 cup chopped crisped browned bacon and cooled fat drained.  
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, to serve

Preparation

1. Cover the dried porcini with 1/2 cup of recently boiled water, then fill the kettle and put it on the heat again if you are making up the broth with concentrate, cube, or powder. In a wide, heavy saucepan (that comes with a lid) add 2 tablespoons of the oil and the fine jade tangle of leek, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until the leeks are softened.

2. Drain the porcini, reserving the soaking liquid, then chop them and add them to the pan. Stir well, then add the farro and turn it gently but thoroughly in the pan. Tip in the Marsala and porcini-soaking water and let it bubble up.

3. Make up the broth as wished and add this to the farro pan, stir, bring to a boil, and then clamp on a lid, turn down the heat, and let it cook at a simmer for 30 minutes, until the farro is cooked and all the liquid absorbed.

4. Mix all your vegetables for your toppings except for the cooked mushrooms and bacon then right before serving mix quickly and then season with a bit of salt

5. While the farro is cooking, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a medium-sized frying pan and cook the sliced crimini mushrooms for about 5 minutes or until they begin to soften (they will first seem alarmingly dry) at which point add the thyme, grate in (or mince and add) the garlic, and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are juicy and soft. Remove from the heat if there is still time on the clock for the farro. Once the farro is cooked, take it off the heat, too, and add the cooked mushrooms. Stir in the ricotta and Parmesan (they will melt in the heat of the farro) until the farro is creamy, then top with the vegetable topping and then sprinkle with parsley and serve.