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Piri-piri poussin with confit potatoes and charred salad

Zesty chili poussin accompanied by roasted confit potatoes and a charred lettuce salad you can serve family style on one large platter.

Preparation time
overnight

Cooking time
over 2 hours

Serves
Serves 2

By Patrick Williams
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the poussin

  • 160g/5¾oz salt
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tbsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tbsp dried chilli flakes
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
  • 2 poussins, spatchcocked
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

For the piri-piri sauce

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 red chillies, roughly chopped
  • ½ Scotch bonnet chilli, roughly chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2cm/¾in fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • pinch salt
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds, toasted and crushed
  • 1 tbsp dried chilli flakes
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 10g tomato purée
  • 2 tbsp white wine
  • 1 tbsp demerara sugar
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 lemon, juice only

For the confit potatoes

  • 1kg/2lb 4oz Pink Fir Apple potatoes, kept whole and scrubbed
  • 1 head garlic
  • 2 thyme sprigs
  • 1 rosemary sprig
  • 2 litres/3½ pints vegetable oil
  • pinch smoked paprika
  • 100g/3½oz rendered beef fat
  • salt

For the salad

  • 2 Little Gem lettuces, cut in half
  • 50ml/2fl oz white wine vinegar
  • 2 free-range egg yolks
  • 40g/1½ oz demerara sugar
  • splash sesame oil, to taste
  • 100ml/3½fl oz vegetable or rapeseed oil
  • ½ lemon, zest and juice
  • ½ lime, zest and juice
  • ½ orange, zest and juice
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • handful dates, chopped

Method

  1. To make the poussin, mix all of the ingredients, except the poussin and oil, together in a bowl or container that is large enough to fit the poussin and mix in 2 litres/3½ pints water. Place the bird into the liquid for a minimum of 8 hours. Remove the bird from the brine and chill overnight in the fridge.

  2. Meanwhile, make the piri piri sauce. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and sweat the onion until tender. Blitz the chillies, garlic, ginger and the salt in a food processor until it forms a coarse paste. Add this paste and the coriander seeds, fennel seeds, chilli flakes and smoked paprika to the onions and cook over a low heat for 20–30 minutes. Add the tomato purée and cook for a further 2 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine and cook until almost reduced. Increase the heat, add the sugar and the remaining salt and cook until dissolved. Season with the vinegar and lemon juice. Blend the sauce in a food processor or blender until smooth.

  3. To cook the poussins, pre-heat the oven to 185C/165 Fan/Gas Mark 5.

  4. Chargrill the spatchcocked birds in a griddle pan with the oil, skin side down, until nicely charred. Place in the oven for 15–20 minutes, depending on the size of the bird (if you have a probe, the internal temperature of the meat should reach 73C). In the last 5–8 minutes of cooking time, take the bird out the oven and coat with the piri piri sauce, then return to the oven until cooked through. Let the birds rest for 8–10 minutes.

  5. To make the confit potatoes, place the potatoes, garlic, thyme and rosemary into a large saucepan with the oil and cook on the hob on a low heat for 2 hours.

  6. Heat a deep fat fryer to 190C. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Slightly crack the skins of the potatoes open, then add them to the fryer and cook for 3–4 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the oil and place in a bowl. Scatter over the paprika and beef fat. Seaon with salt.

  7. To make the salad, char the Little Gems in a hot griddle pan until dark brown. Combine all of the other ingredients except the dates in a blender and emulsify into an oil. Use this to dress the lettuce.

  8. Place the cooked poussins onto serving plates along with the cooked potatoes and dressed salad. Sprinkle the chopped dates and chives over the lettuce. Or you can serve family style on one large platter.

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