Smoked Lime & Honey Chicken
This smoky, salty, zesty sharing feast is a great one for the BBQ on summer evenings, or for waking up dreary winter days. Serve with a big green salad and cocktails. You can add the smoked element in several ways – through the salt, limes, honey and cooking process. The black lime powder here really is something else; fusty mummified limes transform into a deeply aromatic magic powder you should use on anything and everything.
Ingredients
Makes 4-6
10–12 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
750g new potatoes, halved
4 corn cobs, sliced into 2.5cm thick rounds
Glug of neutral oil
800g thick Greek yogurt or labneh
Tajin seasoning, for sprinkling
1 fresh green jalapeño, finely sliced
2 radishes, finely sliced
Coriander leaves and stems, finely chopped
3 limes, smoked if you like
1 tsp sea salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
Ingredients – Marinade
1tbsp black lime powder (see method; from 3-4 black limes)
1 tbsp toasted guajillo chilli powder (see method; from 3-4 dried guajillo chillies)
3 tbsp garlic paste or minced garlic
2 tsp sea salt flakes, smoked if you like
120ml neutral oil
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp white distilled vinegar
3 tbsp smoked honey
Method
1. To make the black lime powder, blitz the black limes in a powerful, sharp-blade blender and pulse until finely powdered. Put in a bowl to one side.
2. To make the toasted guajillo chilli powder, toast the dried chillies in a dry, hot frying pan until charred, then blitz in the blender and pulse until finely powdered. You can shake out the seeds before toasting for less heat, if you like.
3. Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
4. Set aside 3-4 tablespoons for the potatoes. Add the chicken thighs to the remaining marinade and thoroughly coat. Cover and refrigerate, preferably overnight, to allow the flavours to infuse the meat.
5. Remove the chicken from the fridge and grab 2 pairs of metal skewers.
6. Skewer each thigh across 1 pair of skewers, moving on to the second pair when you run out of room; you should get 5 or 6 thighs on each pair.
7. Cook the potatoes and corn in a pan of salted boiling water until the corn is done, around 5 minutes. Drain both thoroughly and pat dry with kitchen paper. Loosen the reserved marinade with the glug of oil and use to coat the par-boiled potatoes.
8. Preheat the grill to 200°C/400°F, or your BBQ on indirect moderate-to-hot heat. Grill the chicken for 15 minutes, then flip and add the potatoes, on a tray, and cook for another 15 minutes. Once cooked through and crispy round the edges, remove from the heat. Take the chicken off the skewers and toss with the potatoes and the corn cob rounds.
9. Apply the yogurt thickly to a serving plate and smooth slightly.
10. Sprinkle with Tajin. Arrange the chicken, potatoes and corn cob rounds across the yogurt. Scatter over the jalapeño and radish slices, chopped coriander stems and leaves. Squeeze half a lime over it all and cut the rest of the limes into wedges to squeeze over the finished plates. Finish with the sea salt, a grind of black pepper and another sprinkle of Tajin and serve with a fresh salad.