Chicken with Chorizo Sausage & Sweet Potato Wedges

This recipe for chicken roasted with chorizo and peppers is perfect for a light lunch with friends. The chicken is baked with sweet roasted peppers, spicy chorizo sausage and red onions in a tangy Spanish-style tomato sauce and the sweet potato wedges make a great alternative to normal potatoes and will count as one of your 5-a-day veg.

Chicken with red wine, garlic, tomatoes, herbs, peppers
& the tasty spicy Chorizo sausage 

 My Ingredients:

For the Chicken Dish -

1 large chicken, cut into 8 pieces

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tbls olive oil

100g chorizo, peeled and diced

3 peppers, deseeded & cut in chunky strips

2 red onions cut chunky

2 garlic cloves, chopped finely

100ml glass red wine

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

1 lemon, juice & zest

For the sweet potato wedges:

2 large sweet potatoes cut into wedges

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp thyme leaves

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

My Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas4.

1. Season the chicken pieces with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat half of the olive oil in a large frying pan and brown the chicken on both sides for 4-5 minutes. When all the chicken pieces are nice and golden-brown, remove them and set aside.

2. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the same frying pan and cook the chorizo for 2 minutes. Add the peppers, red onion, garlic, rosemary and thyme to the pan and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and red wine and stir all the tasty bits off the bottom of the pan. Pour all of this into a roasting tin and place the chicken pieces on top.

3. Sprinkle the lemon zest and juice over the chicken. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked, turning the chicken pieces over halfway through.

Cut the sweet potato wedges chunky

4. Meanwhile toss the sweet potato wedges in the oil and thyme then season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve the chicken with some dressed rocket salad and the wedges on the side.

Don't forget to Feed the Fish at the bottom of this Post!

zack

Cutting up a Chicken - step by step!

For all us chefs and busy cooks out there, cutting up a chicken is a piece of cake! 

But like anything in life...

If you don't know how- you don't know how!

So... here is a step by step, on how to cut up a chicken.

This method is used for almost all types of chicken dishes and even for a quicker way to roast the tender juicy bird! A good, strong, sharp knife is required.

1. Trim off the Wings by cutting through the elbow joint where it bends

2. Cut the skin between the Leg and the thigh

3. Turn the chicken over and cut the meat following the hip bone and making sure you gently cut around the piece of meat known as the 'oyster' - it's in the small of the back - take your time.

4. Push the leg backwards to break the leg joint

5. Cut through the joint and follow the back bone down to the tail to complete the cut.

Repeat this sequence with the other leg.

6. Next feel for the breast bone and make a cut to one side tight up against the bone.

When you feel the wishbone tap the back of the knife sharply to cut through it.

 7. Cut through the meat, using gentle strokes against the bone following back towards the shoulder.

Keeping the point of the knife in tight to the bone all the time, cut clear at the neck of the chicken.

 8. To take off the knuckle on the wing, put the point of the knife on the bone and using the base of your hand, give the back of the knife a good sharp bang. This will cut the knuckle clean off!

 9. Repeat this sequence with the other breast

 10. Cut each breast into two or three pieces.

11. To cut the leg in two, cut through the joint where it bends. A little practice will make this faster.

12. Using the point of the knife, cut through the knuckle on the leg as you did with the wing.

And there you have it! All cut down into handy pieces for cooking and serving.

Don't forget to feed the fish at the bottom of this post!

zack