CHICKEN & MOJO ROJO & PATATAS A LO POBRE

Mojo rojo comes from the Canary Islands and is the kind of sauce that lifts the flavour of anything. It’s good for children, as it’s full of flavour without being too spicy – and big children like it too.

With the patatas a lo pobre (‘poor man’s potatoes’) the only ingredients apart from the potatoes are olive oil, an onion and a bay leaf, so you need to be generous with the seasoning. They should be very soft, almost like confit potatoes.

FOR 3–4

1 free-range chicken, about 1.2kg, cut into portions (or 6–8 chicken thighs)

For the mojo rojo

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

8 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons ground chilli

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika

20ml sherry vinegar

150ml extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the patatas a lo pobre

4 medium potatoes

1 onion, cut in thick julienne (around ½cm)

1 bay leaf

200ml extra virgin olive oil

400ml water

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blend all the mojo rojo ingredients together, adding enough water to make a dribble-able, sauce-like consistency. Rub it into the chicken and leave it in the fridge overnight to marinate.

Preheat the oven to 170–180°C.

Put the chicken into a roasting tray lined with greaseproof paper, skin side up, and roast for 40–45 minutes, or around 20 minutes if just cooking thighs.

As soon as you’ve put the chicken into the oven, peel the potatoes and cut into 1cm slices. Line a second roasting tray or a baking tray with greaseproof paper (making sure there is plenty of paper overhanging – you will need to be able to get hold of it and lift it up later). Put the potatoes into the tray along with the onion, bay leaf, olive oil, water, and a generous amount of salt and pepper.

After the chicken has been in the oven for 20–25 minutes, put the tray of potatoes into the oven. Roast for 10–15 minutes, keeping an eye on them, and when you see the top of the potatoes becoming slightly coloured, lift up the paper and tip the potatoes out into the roasting tray, so the other side can cook for another 10 or so minutes, by which time the chicken should also be ready.

Serve the chicken and potatoes together, with a Little Gem salad.