Grilled chicken with adobo sauce

The perfect way to use up a glut of tomatoes for me is making adobo. Adobo is derived from the Spanish word ‘adobar’ meaning marinade. Adobo is a deep and smoky red paste made using dried chillies. In Mexican cooking it is used to preserve and flavour meats and stews. It’s one of those things that’s always handy to have in your fridge as it’s an instant flavour hit when added to anything.

1 HOUR 30 MINUTES + SOAKING + MARINATING | SERVES 4

EASY |

dried chipotle chillies tomatoes 8-10

apple cider vinegar garlic 5 cloves

soft light brown sugar 2 tbsp

black peppercorns 1 tsp

ground cumin 1 tsp

ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp

chicken legs 4

salad to serve 75ml

1 Put the chipotle chillies in a bowl, cover with enough just-boiled water to cover, and leave for 30 minutes to rehydrate. Remove, reserving the soaking water, and remove the seeds. Put all of the ingredients, except the chicken, plus 1 tsp of salt, into a blender or food processor, and add the soaking water and blend until completely smooth. Pour into a pan and bring to a boil. Let it reduce for 15-20 minutes, until it is the consistency of ketchup – stir every 5 minutes to stop it sticking. Take off the heat and leave to cool, then pour into a sterilised jar. It will keep for a month in the fridge.

2 This is the perfect marinade for meat before putting it on the BBQ or cooking in the oven. Put the chicken legs in a bowl with enough adobo to coat them, then massage well and chill for at least an hour but preferably overnight.

3 Grill the chicken on the BBQ until cooked through, brushing with plenty of adobo as it cooks, or heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/ gas 6 and roast the chicken for 40-45 minutes until caramelised and cooked through, brushing with sauce every 10-15 minutes. Serve with a salad.

4 Alternatively, for a vegan take on tacos al pastor, thinly slice some celeriac and brush some adobo on each slice. Layer the slices on a skewer, lay flat on a roasting tin and cook at 200C/ fan 180C/gas 6 for 1 hour until caramelised and the celeriac is meltingly tender. Remove, slice and serve on corn tortillas.

PER SERVING 311 kcals | fat 16.4G saturates 4.4G | carbs 18.1G | sugars 16.3G fibre 3.9G | protein 20.9G | salt 1.5G

Liam learnt to cook from watching his mum in the kitchen, and later worked as a fine-dining chef. He now runs cooking experiences exploring immigration and food culture, as well as his own catering company, and pop-ups and events in London and Stockholm. Follow him @chef.liam.