Jamaican-style chicken with rice & peas

This is for spice lovers only, as it’ll blow your socks off! If you want to dial down the heat, use only one Scotch Bonnet or replace with the same quantity of a milder chilli. This recipe is very good served with some natural yogurt on the side to cool down those taste buds.

Serves 4 Prep 10 mins plus 1 hr marinating Cook 1 hr

8 chicken thighs, skin on

2 x 250g packs pre-cooked brown rice 150ml coconut milk

300g frozen peas

2 limes, halved, to serve

FOR THE JERK MARINADE

8 spring onions, roughly sliced

1 large shallot, chopped

2cm piece ginger, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 Scotch Bonnet peppers

1 tbsp thyme leaves

½ tbsp ground allspice

½ tbsp ground black pepper a few gratings of nutmeg

2 tbsp dark brown soft sugar

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 Blend all the marinade ingredients with 2 tsp salt in a food processor, or in a bowl with a stick blender, until smooth.

2 Score the skin of the chicken thighs in several places with a sharp knife and put them in a shallow bowl. Pour over the marinade and rub into each chicken thigh. Set aside for at least an hour or, better still, overnight in the fridge to marinate.

3 About an hour before you are ready to eat, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Prepare four sheets of baking parchment or foil, or oven bags.

4 Mix the rice, coconut milk and frozen peas together in a bowl, then divide between the parcels. Arrange two chicken thighs, skin side up, on top of the rice mixture. Close up the parcels and bake for 45 mins. If using an oven bag, snip a few slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

5 Open the parcels, exposing the chicken skins, and bake for another 15 mins to crisp up the skin. Remove from the oven and check each piece of chicken is cooked through – the juices should run clear when pierced with a knife.

6 Serve straight onto plates with lime halves on the side to squeeze over.