Craig David’s Grenadian baked chicken

“This is a deep dive into proper, old-school Grenadian cuisine, in honour of Craig’s family – this is exactly the kind of thing that his late grandmother would have been rustling up at home. It takes a bit of time, but that’s kind of the point – it’s a labour of love, but the results are truly delicious. Give it a go. ”

Ingredients

• 3 onions
• 8 cloves of garlic
• 5 cm piece of ginger
• 1–2 Scotch bonnet chillies
• 6 pimento (allspice) seeds
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 whole nutmeg , for grating
• 1 organic chicken stock cube
• 1 x 1.4 kg whole free-range chicken , cut into 8 pieces (ask your butcher)
• 1.2 kg pumpkin
• olive oil
• white pepper
• RICE & PEAS
• 200 g dried kidney beans
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 8 pimento (allspice) seeds
• 100 g creamed coconut
• 1 green Scotch bonnet chilli
• ½ a bunch of fresh thyme , (15g)
• 3 spring onions
• 200 g long-grain rice
• SAUCE
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 4 tablespoons tomato ketchup
• ½ a bunch of fresh thyme , (15g)
• SALSA
• ½ a cucumber
• 1 Scotch bonnet chilli
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Method

1. Soak the kidney beans for the rice and peas in 1 litre of water overnight.
2. To make a marinade for the chicken, peel and grate 1 onion, 4 cloves of garlic and the ginger, then finely slice the Scotch bonnets. Bash the pimento seeds in a pestle and mortar until fine, then add the ground cloves, a pinch of black pepper and a few scrapings of nutmeg.
3. Mix in the grated mixture, stock cube and chillies, then rub all over the chicken. Cover, then marinate in the fridge overnight.
4. The next day, preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
5. For the rice and peas, peel and smash the garlic, then place in a pan with the pimento seeds, creamed coconut and beans (soaking water and all). Cook on a medium-low heat with the lid on for 1 hour, or until just tender.
6. Place the chicken in a roasting tray and roast for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, mix all the sauce ingredients, except for the thyme, together.
7. When the time’s up on the chicken, reduce the temperature to 150ºC/300ºF/gas 2.
8. Pour the sauce over the chicken, using the thyme to brush it all over, then roast for a further 35 minutes, or until cooked through.
9. Peel and deseed the pumpkin, then chop into 2cm chunks. Peel and finely chop the remaining 2 onions and 4 cloves of garlic, then place it all in a large pan on a medium-low heat with 1 tablespoon of oil and a few scrapings of nutmeg.
10. Simmer with the lid on for 45 minutes, or until starting to caramelize, adding splashes of water, if needed. Smash half the pumpkin with a fork, then stir back through and season to taste with sea salt and white pepper.
11. When the kidney beans are tender, prick and add the Scotch bonnet, strip in the thyme leaves, halve the spring onions lengthways and add with the rice. Mix well, just cover with water, then pop the lid on and cook on a medium-high heat for 25 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.
12. For the salsa, randomly chop the cucumber. Finely slice the Scotch bonnet (deseed if you like) and tear over the bay, discarding the stalks. Mix with the vinegar, then season lightly and leave for 20 minutes to lightly pickle.
13. Serve the rice and peas with the chicken, pumpkin and salsa. Finely grate over a little extra nutmeg before serving.

Source: Jamie Oliver