When I lived in the city, one of my favorite restaurants was Pio Pio. It's a Peruvian restaurant mainly known for its rotisserie chicken. My husband and I ate there (and ordered take-out) so often we had them on speed dial!
So when my husband found a Peruvian seasoning blend I decided to try and re-create our favorite meal. We always ordered a whole chicken with a side of yellow rice, an avocado salad and EXTRA sides of their famous green sauce and garlic sauce.
Chicken
The chicken was simple. We just added the Peruvian seasoning (picture below) onto drumsticks and my husband barbecued them. If you prefer, you can also add a little olive oil before adding the seasoning so more of the seasoning sticks to the chicken, then put in in the oven at 450 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. Broil for a few minutes at the end to make the skin crispier.
Sides
I made Goya yellow rice and for the salad, I used spring mix and added matchstick carrots, grape tomatoes and sliced avocado.
As for the sauces, this was the tricky part. I looked up a few variations and ended up making my own version which came out pretty good! See below:
Sauces
Green Sauce
1 cup cilantro (slightly chopped)
1 tbsp. dried chives (fresh chives are best if you have)
1-2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1/4 lime
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1-2 tsp. red peppers (Note: Ajî Amarillo, a Peruvian yellow chile, or finely chopped serrano pepper is better to make it spicier but I didn't have either and I also didn't want my version to be too spicy)
Salt and pepper to taste
1) Place the cilantro, chives and garlic in a food processor and blend until almost smooth
2) Add the lime, mayonnaise and red pepper and continue to blend until fully mixed together
3) Add salt and pepper to taste
Garlic Sauce (you can use this as the salad dressing or to dip the chicken)
1/2-3/4 of lime (juice and zest)
4-5 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
6 tbsp. olive oil
1-2 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1) Place the garlic cloves in a food processor and blend until finely chopped
2) Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth (Note: I started off with 1/2 a lime and added a little more juice after mixing. I recommend tasting as you add in case you prefer a less citrusy flavor)
This is the chicken cooked on the barbecue. You can also cook it in the oven and just broil for a few minutes to make the skin crispy.
I used the garlic sauce as the dressing. Only drizzle a small amount at first (it's very garlicky!) and you can add more once you serve individually.
This is the full meal! The yellow rice is Goya. I use the green sauce AND garlic sauce on everything! =)
ENJOY!
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