Jamaican Chicken in Green Seasoning
An easy roast chicken dinner that celebrates a heritage seasoning blend of the Caribbean islands.
The Caribbean islands offer one of the richest and most eclectic fusions of culinary traditions in the world. Although most of the islands will have their own produce, influences and forged culinary style, there are some ideas and techniques that connect them. This dish celebrates one of them: ‘green seasoning’. This blended wet seasoning would be made with chilli peppers, green onions and fresh green herbs. It ties together various beliefs from various cultures about how to preserve food before the advent of refrigeration. Many cultures believed strong-tasting and strong-smelling aromatics made food last longer, both before and after cooking. Though they couldn’t explain the mechanism for how this happened, it just seemed to, and there actually were truths to it. Many of the ingredients were anti-bacterial to some degree, and also happened to be delicious too. ‘Green seasoning’ is the embodiment of that. Though it’s often used as a first step in more complex Caribbean recipes, ‘green seasoning’ alone makes a great marinade for grilled or roast chicken. Nowadays, we may not need these old-time preserving ways, but it seems we have learned to love the taste of them. Let’s honour that. Let’s go!
INGREDIENTS (serves 4x)
8-10x bone-in chicken thighs/drumsticks
GREEN SEASONING
5x spring onions
1x small handful parsley
1x small handful coriander
1x green bell pepper, core removed
5-6 sprigs of thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1x onion
6x cloves garlic
1x thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1x scotch bonnet pepper or 2-3 green chillies - optional
3 tablespoons olive oil
To serve: rice, plantain, salad
WALKTHROUGH
First, let’s make the green seasoning. In a large processor combine all of the ingredients (besides the chicken). Blend them to a fine paste, with a little bit of texture remaining. This green seasoning can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Remove approximately 1/4 of the green seasoning and set it aside for later. To the remaining green seasoning, add your 8-10 bone-in chicken pieces (thighs and/or drumsticks). Use your fingers to loosen the skin away from the meat. Using your hands (gloves recommended), spread the green seasoning around the meat, tucking it under the skin of the chicken. For deeper penetration, you can cut slits into the meat and push the seasoning in. Allow the chicken to marinate for 20 minutes or up to 2 days in the fridge.
To cook, place the marinated chicken pieces onto an oven tray. Preheat an oven to 180C. Roast the chicken at 180C/350F for 20-25 minutes. The chicken will darken considerably on the surface - this is normal - but will remain green under the skin.
Brush over some of the reserved green seasoning from earlier for a fresh, green kick. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Serve the green chicken with white rice (with or without peas) and/or salad. Enjoy!
