Pollo La Madrina Limón

I think it was clear from my last blog that I don't cook from Fridays to Sundays. The truth is that when I cook I try to be as practical and hassle free as possible, using as little cookware that I can so I don't need to do a big clean up. Pretty lazy, you may think. Pretty clever, I may respond. And that is one of the reasns I love to cook whole roast chicken for the family. Not only it is super easy and it takes nothing and a half to prepare, but also I get to use my slow cooker so it practically cooks itself.

The way I prepare the chicken is many hours (or days) in advance. You only need a few minutes, but the way I do it is by starting the process when I come back from the supermarket, and finishing with the food on the table a day or two later. The secret for the chicken to come up moist is in leaving the chicken in a salt brine or just plain salt for many hours, if not overnight. If you clean the chicken and pat dry it and leave in the fridge covered in salt, the chicken retains all its moisture and you end up with a super juicy bird. After you brined it you cover it with the marinade, which in this case it is Chimichurri La Madrina Limón, for several hours or also overnight, and then you have the most delicious, flavourful and juicy whole roast chicken you ever tried. The other great result in preparing this meal is that you get some leftover chicken to make a delicious sandwich or wrap, of course using Chimichurri La Madrina Mayo, which will bring it to another level. So you see, quick, easy, practical and delicious, that is my kind of cooking and that is the recipe I am leaving for you today.

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus many hours for the salt and the marinade)

Cook time: 4 hours

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (around 1.5 to 2 kg)

• salt to cover the chicken (1 or 2 tablespoons)

• 100 g softened butter

• 100 g Chimichurri La Madrina Limón

• salt

• peper

• French Onion Soup mix

Method

1. Clean the chicken, pat dry it with paper towels, and cover it in salt. Leave it for at least 4 hours or even overnight.

2. Create a paste combining the Chimichurri La Madrina Limón and the butter.

3. Clean the chicken again to get rid of the extra salt and cover it now with the Chimichurri La Madrina Limón and butter paste.

4. Leave it marinading for another 4 hours at least or again overnight.

5. When ready to cook place it in the slow cooker for about 4 hours in low.

6. In the meantime prepare the vegetables (potatoes, gold sweet potatoes, purple sweet potatoes, red and green capsicum, zucchini, onion, carrots, etc) in a greased pan. Sprinkle some salt, pepper, and French onion soup mix on top for a golden caramelised coat. Roast them in a 180 degrees oven for about an hour until golden and soft.

7. Leave it out resting for 10 minutes

8. Broil the chicken in the oven (I use the grill or roast function) for about 10 minutes to get the skin crisp and golden.

9. You can use the juices of the slow cooker to create a gravy, mixing it with some corn flour and water on the stove until it is thickened. But to be honest my family prefers the juices as they are, straight from the slow cooker.

10. Add an extra teaspoon of Chimichurri La Madrina Limón on top of the chicken portion.