Portuguese Chicken Dinner (Jantar de Frango)


Ingredients
2 small (about 550g each) fresh or frozen thawed chickens80ml (1/3 cup) fresh lemon juice60ml (1/4 cup) olive oil2 tablespoons sweet paprika2 tablespoons dried oregano4 garlic cloves, crushed1 long fresh red chilli, deseeded, finely chopped1 teaspoon salt Freshly ground black pepperLemon wedges, to serveSalad:1 x 250g pkt red grape tomatoes, washed, halved1 Cucumber, halved lengthways, thinly sliced1/2 red onion, thinly sliced1/2 cup drained pitted kalamata olives2 tablespoons olive oil1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice1 teaspoon dried oreganoSalt & freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
  1. Place 1 chicken, breast-side down, on a clean work surface. Use kitchen scissors or poultry shears to cut down both sides of backbone and discard. Turn chicken, breast-side up, and push down to flatten. Tuck wings under. Pat dry with paper towel. Repeat with remaining chicken. Use a knife to make several 5mm deep and 4cm long cuts into chicken meat. Place in a glass or ceramic baking dish.
  2. Combine the lemon juice, oil, paprika, oregano, garlic, chilli and salt in a bowl. Season with pepper. Pour over the chicken and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 6 hours to develop the flavours.
  3. Preheat oven to 200°C. Place chicken and marinade in a roasting pan. Roast in oven, basting occasionally with pan juices, for 40 minutes or until brown and juices run clean when chicken is pierced with a skewer. Remove from oven and cover with foil. Set aside for 5 minutes to rest.
  4. Meanwhile, to make the salad, place the tomato, cucumber, onion and olives in a bowl. Place oil, lemon juice and oregano in a screw-top jar and shake to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over salad and toss to combine.
  5. Cut each chicken in half and serve with lemon wedges and salad.

Recipe & Photo Credit: Sarah Hobbs

Preparation time 15 min
Cooking Time 40 min
Ready In 55 min
Level of DifficultyEasy
Servings4
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