Dinner came in the form of a fresh, spicy green sauce, roasted chicken and sweet potatoes. This meal takes a little planning. I recommend letting the bird marinate overnight. This recipe came out of the Nom Nom Paleo book, and it was a winner with the boys. A very manly meal as one of my friends called.

I like to do things in an order that makes the most time sense. Since the chicken takes the longest to do, prep and marinate wise. Lets start there. Mix up the ingredients.

Split the bird, then pat dry.

Get under the skin and rub this sauce all up in there, and over it. Cover and marinate over night. Clean everything up. Disinfect. Make sure all the gross raw chicken-ness is gone. Then lets start on the SAUCE.

Olive oil on low heat and garlic. Let it bubble a little. There’s infusion going on up in there. Don’t brown it. You smell it? It’s ready. Remove from heat then set aside.

Time to bust out my beloved Vitamix. Put in the fresh green ingredients and mayo. Mix it up to coarse. Slow drizzle in the olive oil/garlic mix, then turn that baby up.

Stick it in a jar and in the fridge until ready to serve. So lets say the chicken is done marinating. Bring it to room temperature for an hour, and preheat the oven to 400F. Stick in the oven for about an hour or more, until the skin is crisp and the chicken is cooked!

While you are letting that baby roast. Prep your sweet potatoes. I like to boil them until fork tender before I stick them in the oven. After I boil them, I drain, then toss in olive oil and season, then spread it out on a baking sheet.

Serve them all together and enjoy a pretty healthy, filling dinner!

Peruvian Roast Chicken and Aji Verde Chili Sauce
(Adapted from Nom Nom Paleo)

Roast Chicken Ingredients

1 (4 lb) Whole Chicken
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbs melted ghee or olive oil
1 tbs kosher salt
1 tbs freshly ground black pepper
1 tbs ground cumin
1 tbs smoked paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 small lime, zested and juiced

Aji Verde Chili Sauce

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped
1 scallion, roughly chopped
1/2 cup Paleo mayonnaise
1/3 cup fresh basil
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1/3 cup fresh mint
2 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp white vinegar

Directions:
For the sauce, heat olive oil and garlic in small skillet over low heat for about 3 minutes, until garlic is fragrant and oil bubbles. Remove from heat and set aside. In a processor, grind the rest of the chili sauce ingredients until mixed. Add the garlic oil and bend until smooth.

For the chicken, stir together the ingredients. Cut open the chicken down the backbone with kitchen scissors and flatten it out. Rub the marinade all over and under the skin. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring out the bird an hour before cooking. Preheat the oven to 400F. Cook for about an hour, until fully cooked!

Serve with sauce on the side and anything else you’d like, sweet potatoes for instance!