Roast Chook Chermoula and Chorizo Brussels Sprouts
I watched a cooking show a week ago in the background as I worked called Selena & Chef, where Selena Gomez, supposed newby cook, learns a dish or two each episode from a chef. One episode feature “Jon and Vinny” (restaurateurs and chefs in LA apparently), who made a great looking roast chook dish.
With a bit of searching (the show walked her through it, but gave no recipe), I found this on the web:
https://www.hbomax.com/static/selena-chef/Chicken_Dinner.pdf
Which missed what was called a cilantro vinaigrette, but was basically the same as the Chermoula shown here:
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/skillet_chermoula_chicken/
They skipped the paprika, used lime instead of lemon, and added 1/4 cup vinegar but otherwise pretty bang on. Having tasted it I would have left out most of the vinegar next time too. They used it as a dressing right over the cooked & rested chicken with a heavy hand and it look fantastic. It tasted pretty good too.
A little searching showed this is Thomas Keller’s roast chook:
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/my-favorite-simple-roast-chicken-231348
ie salt a chook, whack it in the oven at 230c for 50 mins. I normally cook them lower for longer.
It was all great though and properly rested it was easy to carve and serve.
I now have a heap of chermoula left over, so maybe over some lamb over the next day or so? (maybe as a marinade?)
I also made a chorizo and brussels sprout dish very similar to this:
https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/squashed-brussels-roasted-with-chorizo-and-chestnuts
Except that I did not use chestnuts or the olive oil (what sort of chorizo needs more oil?). I actually find it hard to find chestnuts most of the time for some reason ..
G was unimpressed by the Brussels and reluctantly ate two, and I must admit I was not that big a fan either. Not complaint with the recipe, just not our thing I think. L liked them.
Meanwhile the chicken was a hit, and I would happily make both it and the chermoula / vinaigrette. Bright green, zesty. Even G liked it and I wasn’t sure he would. The way to L’s heart is roast chicken, so no surprise there that she liked it.
Good to have a different way to nicely cook the chook, but it did splatter the oven a heap (which probably doesn’t phase pro-chefs, but does make cleanup a bit of a pain).
Addendum:
After making this I discovered that Kenji @ Serious Eats has a version of the sprouts. Now, I am a much much bigger Kenji fan than I am Jamie Oliver fan, so if I was to do this again, I’d seriously look at Kenji’s:
If nothing else, the tip from Kenji:
“Straining the oil before roasting the Brussels sprouts ensures that the chorizo and aromatics don’t burn (they’ll be added back at the end).”
is a super good one, as mine burnt a bit more than I’d like. (although some of it in quite a yummy way ..)