Lazy Roast

      My friends Sarah, Jon and their little Ben came over to see me when I was staying in New Smyrna Beach, FL in January 2009, and I wanted something simple and nice for lunch so I roasted a chicken. I had forgot that Jon is allergic to chicken and Sarah was allergic to tomatoes, and so he had to eat my leftovers from the day before (which was a tomaticán which I’ll give you next time).

      They arrived mid morning from Jacksonville and, after sticking the chicken in the oven, we went for a walk on the beach. I love walking slowly on the beach, but this walk was the slowest I have ever done. It was amazing what I saw because I was going so slow that I normally missed. I saw not one, but two, star fish for the first time in probably 20 years and we rescued one from drying out (at least that was the plan). We probably only got about half a mile from the condo in about an hour and my inner timer went off and told me the chicken needed taking out so I ran back to save it from burning while they returned at their pace.

      I had wanted to do a nice lunch with no work, which is not half as hard as it sounds. Take a chicken, rinse and remove giblets. Stuff with a lemon. Put in a baking tray with a little olive oil on it and cook in a medium oven (180C) for about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the size. You test by skewing the bird with a knife or sharpened stick and if the juices run out clear then you are good to go. Cover with foil and a few towels for insulation and let it sit for about 20 minutes after you remove from the oven as this lets the juices go back into the meat and gives you time for last minute preparation. I cooked potato fins with it. I invented these in Chile. Take potatoes and cut into cm thick fins put a tiny bit of salt on them and then cook in a high oven for about 20-30 minutes on a non-stick shelf or pan. They initially swell up, and then calm down. They will cook, more slowly, at 180 with the chicken (put on the upper shelf).

      I served the chicken and potato fins with a tomato and avocado salad with olive oil and a nice bottle of Cousiño Macul Antiguas Reserves. It is a fantastic wine, but actually I would have preferred something a little less big, like the same vineyard’s Don Matias, which is a surprisingly good wine. For dessert we had a packet of Dutch Specalaas, which I found in the local Publix and coffee.

      That evening we had a wonderful take out pizza from the little pizza place on the A1A a few blocks after South Peninsular Ave and dipped the crusts in hummus.  I had another glass of wine which totally outclassed the food this time. The Antiguas Reservas would be better with a nice roast of beef….

Reinventing classics

      I have a knack of inventing recipes which already exist. I’m not sure if this is because I’ve eaten them somewhere before and forgotten or whether I simply am following the same line of reasoning as the original innovators. One of these days I will invent something original, but for now I’ll give you my version of two hot sauces I reinvented.

      The first one was inspired by Carla, a Bolivian friend in Chile, who was telling me about some of the sauces they made back home. It involved some herb which is only grown in the west of Bolivia and you can’t buy anywhere else, but I got the general gist. I went off to the shops and got a pack of rocoto chiles (called locoto in Bolivia). Rocotos are the very hot red chiles which are frequently used in Peruvian food, and give the most almighty kick. You can use habañeros, which are about as hot, but a bit thinner in flavour. Fresh rocotos are best.

1 rocoto, without seeds

1 large tomato (or 2-3 smaller ones), peeled and with the pips and water removed

finely chopped parsley

finely chopped red onion

olive oil

salt

      Put the flesh of the rocoto, the tomato, the olive oil and the salt in a blender and wizz up. Pour the mixture into a small jar and mix in the parsley and onion. You can simply put them in the top of the jar and shake. I try not to touch the inside of the chile with my fingers, but scrape everything out with the knife. Wash your hands well after handling the rocotos and do not try to take your contact lenses out for several hours afterwards. The way to peel tomatoes is to put them in boiling water for a few minutes. Then you prick the skin with a knife and the skin should come off very easily.

      The second one I invented as I wanted to make a green sauce and use tomatillos, which are totally impossible to find in Chile. I may have had something like this in Guatemala a few years ago, but when I was in Florida in September 2009 I finally had the chance to make a sauce with tomatillos, which you can buy easily in all the supermarkets. I wanted to make a green sauce after all the red ones I’d invented with the rocotos. It turns out that it’s a version of the classic Salsa Verde of Mexico.

3 large tomatillos or 5/6 small ones

3 green Serrano or jalapeño chiles

very finely chopped onion

cilantro/coriander

olive oil

large pinch of salt

      Stick the tomatillos and serranos in a blender with the coriander and olive oil and salt. Wizz up and then add the chopped onions. I may have added a clove of garlic to the initial mix. I can’t remember.

These are a great thing to take to a Barbeque if you are invited and you’ll get a reputation as a good cook.