Chimi Chimi Chicken with Butternut Squash
Chimi Chimi because the chicken gets ‘chimied’ twice! Firstly to marinate it and secondly to dollop over the top of the dish once it’s cooked, so you need to make plenty for this. This Chimi has a bit of a chilli kick to it. We’ve all got our own Chimi recipes, but this is my favourite. Use whatever herbs you have and make it as punchy as you like. Chimi is not just for steak – it’s great on chicken too.
Ingredients
Serves 6
6 chicken thighs, bones in and skin on
1 butternut squash (about 750g of flesh, save the rest for soup) thinly sliced
2 red onions, thinly sliced
Olive oil
Sprigs of fresh thyme
CHIMICHURRI
Handful fresh parsley, including stalks
2 garlic cloves
2 shallots, peeled
1 tsp dried oregano
1 fresh red chilli (including seeds)
Juice of half a lemon
2 tbsp cider vinegar
80ml olive oil, maybe a little more
Method
1. Firstly make the chimichurri – place all the ingredients into a mini food processor and blitz. Add a little salt if needed, and more olive oil or cider vinegar. You want a loose mixture.
2. Trim the chicken thighs (remove any excess bits of skin) and make a few slits into the skin. Place into a large dish and pour over half of the chimichurri. Leave to marinate for an hour or so, longer if possible.
3. Into a heavy-based pan that will fit into your BBQ, add in the sliced red onions, butternut squash and a good glug of olive oil. Give it a good mix. Season with salt and pepper and add in the thyme sprigs.
4. Place the chicken thighs on top of the vegetables and put into your BBQ at a temperature of 180°C indirect cooking. Roast for about 45 minutes until the thighs reach an internal temperature of 75°C. Remove from the heat and drizzle with the remaining chimichurri.
5. All the dish needs now is some winter greens or crusty bread to mop up the zingy roasting juices from the pan.
6. Try it on a whole chicken and/or with pumpkins, seasonal squash or potatoes for a warming chimi chimi one pan dish. Chop the vegetables a bit chunkier as they will be cooking for a bit longer.
More Recipes Ideas from Sue Stoneman
Method
1. Firstly make the chimichurri – place all the ingredients into a mini food processor and blitz. Add a little salt if needed, and more olive oil or cider vinegar. You want a loose mixture.
2. Trim the chicken thighs (remove any excess bits of skin) and make a few slits into the skin. Place into a large dish and pour over half of the chimichurri. Leave to marinate for an hour or so, longer if possible.
3. Into a heavy-based pan that will fit into your BBQ, add in the sliced red onions, butternut squash and a good glug of olive oil. Give it a good mix. Season with salt and pepper and add in the thyme sprigs.
4. Place the chicken thighs on top of the vegetables and put into your BBQ at a temperature of 180°C indirect cooking. Roast for about 45 minutes until the thighs reach an internal temperature of 75°C. Remove from the heat and drizzle with the remaining chimichurri.
5. All the dish needs now is some winter greens or crusty bread to mop up the zingy roasting juices from the pan.
6. Try it on a whole chicken and/or with pumpkins, seasonal squash or potatoes for a warming chimi chimi one pan dish. Chop the vegetables a bit chunkier as they will be cooking for a bit longer.
