Ceviche-inspired Chicken

Whenever I eat this recipe it reminds me of the person who introduced me to it, my auntie Ana. A tiny Peruvian lady, she is always bursting with energy no matter the time of day, and can chat to you endlessly over glasses of wine or bowlfuls of coffee. Every time I visited her house when I was growing up, she would cook this meal especially. Even now, the punchy sour and fruity lime flavours mixed with the heat from the aji paste takes me back to her kitchen, and all the conversations and loud laughter that bounced around the room. I guess in that respect everyone has a childhood recipe that takes them back.

Anyway, I didn't post today to reminisce about my childhood, I wanted to tell you about this recipe. Spicy, sour, and with a slightly fruity twist, this meal punches you right in the taste buds. Usually ceviche is made with fish, but I've used chicken instead and my inclusion of tomatoes in the recipe will probably make most people say this isn't authentic ceviche. Fair enough, but it still tastes delicious and is a good alternative for someone that doesn't like seafood. This takes a cinch to rustle up and whilst its boiling away you can go do more important things.

You Will Need:

4 cloves of garlic

an inch of grated ginger

1 onion

1 tablespoon of cumin

2 tablespoons of aji paste (can be bought from Latin American food stores or made from Peruvian peppers and water)

8-10 limes

4 chicken thighs

1 plantain 

1 bunch of coriander

3-4 sweet potatoes, depending on size and how many you want

1-2 cups of chicken broth, enough to just cover the chicken

1 cup of sweetcorn, or 2 cobs of choclo (a starchy white Peruvian corn)

Rice

Seasoning

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C for the sweet potatoes.

2. After chopping the garlic and onion, grate the ginger and throw all three ingredients into the pan. Once they are lightly cooked, add the chicken thighs along with the cumin, aji paste, and seasoning.

3. Whilst waiting for the chicken to cook, begin to boil water for the chicken broth and cut the tomatoes into quarters. Slice the coriander bunch, and then place the broth, tomatoes, and coriander into the pot with the chicken.

4. As the chicken bubbles away, juice the limes and add the juice to the pot once you've finished. Leave this to simmer lightly whilst you cook the rice, sweet potatoes, and plantains.

5. Peel and slice the sweet potatoes so they look like discs.

6. Place the sweet potato discs on a tray, lightly drizzle with olive oil, and place in the oven to cook for 45 minutes. Check periodically to ensure they aren't burning.

7. Whilst the sweet potatoes are cooking, put your rice on to boil and let it bubble away until cooked, and slice the plantain into thin discs. 

8. Now go do more important things whilst this cooks. 

9. About ten minutes before the food is ready, put a frying pan on medium heat and cook the plantain for a few minutes on either side. Add the sweetcorn to the chicken and stir to make sure the corn is fully immersed in the mixture.

10. Take the sweet potatoes out of the oven. Sieve the rice, and then place several spoonfuls on each plate. Once the sweetcorn is cooked place a chicken thigh on each plate along with several spoonfuls of the broth mixture, and add the plantain slices to the plate.

11. Enjoy with a cold glass of South American or Spanish beer. Or any beer really.

Does anyone have any suggestions they would like to include? Did anyone burn their plantains like I did? Leave a comment below!