McCain Wedges Summer of Sharing Recipe #2 : Jamaican Jerk Chicken served with a Mango Chilli Salsa & Spicy Wedges

Earlier in the week, I showed you our (very successful, I might add!) attempt at recreating McCain's Greek Lamb & Feta Burgers topped with Red Onion, Cucumber & Olives, served with Oregano Wedges. Well, today we left Greece behind and headed off to ... Jamaica !

I quickly grabbed all the ingredients from the big delivery of goodies that had been sent through along with the recipes (and that I showed you here).

Here's the ingredients list :

 Jamaican Jerk Chicken served with a  Mango Chilli Salsa & Spicy Wedges

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 300g McCain Lightly Spiced Wedges
• 4 chicken breasts

For the Jerk sauce:

• 1 onion, peeled and quartered.
• 2 red chillies halved and seeded (or 1-2 scotch bonnet chillies if you like things hot)
• 2 tbsp root ginger, peeled and chopped roughly
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 100ml white wine vinegar
• 100ml dark soy sauce

For the salsa:

• 1 large, ripe but firm mango, peeled, stoned and diced
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
• 3 spring onions, thinly siced on the diagonal
• 1 tbsp lime juice

Place all the ingredients for the jerk sauce in a food processor or liquidizer and whiz until smooth. If you do not have a food processor, just chop the onion, red chilli and root ginger as finely as you possibly can.

 Mix with the spices, vinegar and soy sauce. Keep a tablespoon of the sauce to the side for the spiced wedges.

Slash the chicken 3-4 times with a knife to allow the marinade to penetrate. Place the chicken in a large shallow dish, pour over the sauce, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours of if time allows, overnight.

Preheat the oven to 200C/fan oven 180C, gas mark 6. Place the chicken and marinade slashed-side up in a roasting tin and roast for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and baste it with the marinade. Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Mix together the salsa ingredients and chill until ready to serve.

Place the McCain Lightly Spiced Wedges into a large bowl and add a tablesoon of the reserved jerk sauce. Toss gently in the bowl, place the wedges onto a backing sheet and bake as per pack instructions.

When the chicken is ready, serve alongside the spicy wedges and a spoonful of salsa.

I pretty much followed the recipe to the letter, the main difference being that I cooked my chicken in a frying pan with an extra splash of marinade, because the oven was already full with the wedges. I was dubious about mixing mango and spring onions but it was actually gorgeous and was everyone's favourite part of the meal ! The chicken was nice but I felt that the soy sauce and vinegar flavours came through too strongly, so I would reduce the quantities of both of those in the marinade next time. I did also tone down the quantity of chillies used, so that the kids would eat it too. The general consensus of opinion was that it was very nice indeed.

A little birdie tells me we'll be trying the British recipe next !

Don't forget, the recipes are part of  McCain's summer campaign encouraging Brits to celebrate this great British summer with family and friends. As part of the campaign they’re giving away 100 party packs per day as well as the opportunity to win the ultimate party to share with your friends and family. All you have to do is visit their microsite to enter where you’ll also find recipes, party tips, games and the calendar of events this summer  – www.summerofsharing.co.uk

Disclosure :  I received a selection of ingredients from McCain in order to try out their Summer of Sharing recipes.

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Look at what we'll be cooking for our next Blogger Challenge !

McCain Wedges Summer of Sharing Recipe #1 : Greek Lamb & Feta Burgers topped with Red Onion, Cucumber & Olives, served with Oregano Wedges

Capricorn Goats Cheese Blogger Challenge recipe #2 : Mediterranean Veg Filo Flowers