Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken

The New York Times recently had a recipe for Peruvian Roasted Chicken with Spicy Cilantro Sauce. We love chimichurri sauce, which hails from Argentina, but I’d never heard of this Peruvian spicy green sauce so I had to try it.

The original recipe called for two Peruvian chile pastes, which I didn’t have access to. I used their suggested substitutes, sambal oelek (or sriracha) for the aji amarillo paste and ordinary chile powder (or ground pasilla chile powder) for the aji panca powder. From what I read, it’s also traditional to marinate and cook chicken halves for this, but I used bone-in skin-on chicken thighs.

The marinade and the spicy green sauce are fantastic! I used the lower end of the suggested amount of jalapenos in the green sauce but next time I will use the upper end because it was not too spicy for us.

I served this with roasted sliced sweet potatoes, which also taste wonderful with the spicy green sauce on them, roast cauliflower and a green salad.

Print Recipe

Peruvian-Style Roast Chicken with Spicy Green Sauce

If you have access to Peruvian chile pastes use those for more authenticity. But substituting sambal oelek and regular chile powder still produced some great tasting chicken. Don’t skimp on the green sauce!

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• 3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces
• 6 cloves garlic, grated or minced
• 3 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 Tbs sambal oelek or sriracha or aji amarillo paste
• 1 Tbs lime juice
• 1 tsp chile powder (or aji panca paste)
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• olive oil to drizzle

For the Spicy Green Sauce

• 1 cup cilantro (leaves and tender stems)
• 3-4 jalapenos, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup sour cream or crumbled feta cheese
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 Tbs lime juice
• 2 tsp chopped fresh oregano or basil
• 1 1/2 tsp sambal oelek (or sriracha or aji amarillo)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• lime wedges for serving

Instructions

• Whisk together the marinade ingredients.  Put the chicken pieces in a zip-lock bag or large bowl and pour the marinade over, making sure the chicken is coated. 
• Marinade the chicken at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours.
• Heat the oven to 450 F. 
• Wipe the excess marinade off the chicken with paper towels and put the chicken pieces skin-side up on a baking sheet or dish. Drizzle with oil and bake 35-45 minutes, until cooked through. (If you’re using breasts, they’ll get done quicker and can be removed after 25-35 minutes.)
• While the chicken is roasting, make the spicy green sauce by blending all the ingredients except the oil together in a food processor or blender.  Slowly add the oil and mix until emulsified. Taste and add more salt and/or lime juice. 
• When the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes, loosely covered with foil.
• Serve with the sauce and lime wedges.

Notes

This chicken goes great with sliced sweet potatoes, which can cook at the same time as the chicken. Just scrub them and slice cross-wise into 1/2″ thick slices. Lay them on a lightly oiled pan and bake 20-30 minutes. 

You can also roast other vegetables, like cauliflower or broccoli, while the chicken rests.