Looking to re-vamp your weeknight dinner? Well, check out this delicious jerk chicken with rice and peas recipe. It’s the ultimate comfort food with an abundance of flavour.
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1.5 pounds chicken drumsticks
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 to 2 (or to taste) Scotch bonnet peppers, seeded
- 2 teaspoons ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons regular or low sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- Salt, to taste
For the Rice and Peas:
- 1 cup long grain basmati rice, washed and drained
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup chopped green onions
- Salt, to taste
- 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, finely diced
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1-inch cinnamon stick
Method:
- For the chicken, add all of the ingredients for the marinade in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is pureed and resembles a paste. Place the marinade and the chicken in a large bowl, coat the chicken well and pop it in the fridge for 4 to 5 hours or overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, place the chicken and marinade on to a baking dish and allow your chicken to rest at room temperature for a few minutes (about 5 minutes).
- Roast the chicken for about 40 to 45 minutes or until it develops a roasted color.
- While the chicken cooks, make the rice and peas.
- Heat a pot (with a lid) with 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over a medium heat.
- Once hot, add the spring onion, Scotch bonnet pepper and cinnamon and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant, stirring constantly.
- Stir in the rice, and then add the kidney beans. Stir fry all the ingredients together for about a minute.
- Add water to the pot along with salt and add the fresh thyme sprigs. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over a high heat.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to very low and cook, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until all the water has absorbed and the rice is cooked and fluffy.
- Once cooked, remove from the heat and keep covered until serving.
- Serve along side of the jerk chicken and enjoy!
- *Extra Tip: Add some mint chutney on the side to give your rice and beans an extra kick!
Main Image Photo Credit: Pooja Rao
Pooja Rao
Author
A self-taught home-cook with a passion for what cooking really stands for…Pooja believes that food really feeds the soul not just the stomach. Realtor by profession but a foodie at heart, Pooja’s love for food earned her a spot as one of the Top100 on MasterChef Canada. Follow h...