Margarita's International Recipes

Comoros Islands



Comorian Roasted Chicken

Chicken was on sale at Safeway, so I decided to make this simple Comorian recipe for roasted chicken. The results were quite good, in particular the meat closer to the skin. The skin was very nice, flavorful and crispy.

I wasn't too careful following the recipe, and I forgot to add the teaspoon of ground coriander the recipe called for - I'm sure it'd been better with it. I also had the hardest time making a paste of the lemongrass, the garlic and the ginger. Both my regular food processor and blender were too large for the job, and my mini-chopper just couldn't cut the lemongrass in small enough pieces. I was afraid that the lemongrass would be too tough to eat on the chicken, but it didn't seem to be too bad.

This dish is supposed to be served with potatoes that are steamed and then sauteed in butter - but I miscalculated how long the chicken would take to bake, and the potatoes were not ready by the time the chicken was, so I skipped them.

All in all, a fine recipe, but one that I'm unlikely to make again.




Comorian Roasted Chicken

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450F

In a blender or food processor, puree half the lemon grass, garlic cloves and ginger with the lemon juice. Add some water if necessary.

Season chicken with salt on and under the skin. Spread the lemongrass paste under its skin.

Put the rest of the lemongrass, the cilantro and the mint in the cavity of the chicken.

Place chicken on a roasting pan and roast at 450F for 15 minutes. Decrease temperature to 350F and roast for 15 minutes per pound, basting with juices often. If juices are too thick, mix with a couple of tablespoons of water.

Serve with potatoes

Adapted from Amina Idrissa's recipe at Holambe Comores


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