Name: Chicken with pineapple and ’nduja
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: International
Ingredients: 4 chicken thighs; 4 cloves garlic; 1 onion; 300 g pineapples; 4 tangerines; 100 g chicken stock; 2 tbsp double cream; 5 g cilantro; 1 lime (for serving); 50 g 'Nduja; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 tsp tomato paste; 0.5 tsp chipotle chili; 0.5 tsp sweet paprika powder; 0.75 tsp salt; pepper; salt (for serving); olive oil (for serving)

Chicken with pineapple and ’nduja

Based on 5 ratings

In app

"I love the combination of sweet and savoury (as you’ll probably have deduced if you’ve flicked through this book a few times), and there is no greater union than that of pork and pineapple. The pork here comes in the form of ’nduja, a spreadable chilli-spiked sausage from Calabria. Add chicken, pineapple, chipotle and tangerine to the mix and you’ve got yourself a party. Get ahead: Marinate the chicken in the ’nduja and chipotle paste up to 2 days ahead, but don’t mix in the onion and garlic until you’re ready to bake. Notes: I use tangerines over oranges as they have a more complex, floral flavour, but feel free to use oranges if that’s easier (use fresh fruit, though, not juice from a bottle or carton). If your tangerines/ oranges aren’t particularly sweet, you may want to add some maple syrup or honey – do this when you add the stock or water. This recipe is from Ixta Belfrage's new cookbook MEZCLA."

Step 2/5

25 g 'Nduja

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp tomato paste

¼ tsp chipotle chili

¼ tsp sweet paprika powder

⅜ tsp salt

pepper

2 chicken thighs

2 cloves garlic

⅜ onion

Put all the ingredients for the ’nduja and chipotle paste (’nduja paste, olive oil, tomato paste, chipotle flakes, paprika, salt, freshly ground black pepper) into a large bowl and mix together. Add the chicken (skin-on, bone-in, at room temperature), garlic (peeled and crushed with the side of a knife) and three-quarters (save the rest to serve) of the onion (very thinly sliced on a mandolin) and mix well so everything is coated evenly. Tip the chicken, onions and garlic into a 28cm ovenproof cast-iron skillet or similar-sized baking dish. Spread out the chicken thighs and arrange, skin side up, on top of the onions and garlic.

Step 3/5

150 g pineapples

Cut the pineapple (extra ripe, peeled) into 4 rounds, then cut each round into quarters, removing the hard core (you should have about 300g). Add the pineapple to the bowl with the remnants of the paste, mix to coat with whatever's left there, then arrange the pineapple around the chicken.

Step 4/5

2 tangerines

50 g chicken stock

Pour the tangerine juice (freshly squeezed, about 100 g juice from the 4 tangerines) around the chicken (don’t get the skin wet), then bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour the stock or water into the pan around the chicken (again, don’t get the skin wet). Return to the oven for another 20–25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is browned and crispy. If you have a blowtorch, use it to char the pineapple a little.

Step 5/5

1 tbsp double cream

2½ g cilantro

⅛ onion

olive oil (for serving)

salt (for serving)

½ lime (for serving)

Let the chicken rest for 5–10 minutes, then drizzle the cream into the sauce. Toss the coriander and the remaining sliced onions together with a tiny bit of oil and salt and arrange them on top. Serve from the pan, with the lime (cut into wedges) alongside.