Roast Chicken with Kaffir Lime Leaves

Hello friends! I'm baaack!

I had a great time travelling with my friend Cian... over the past couple of weeks, we went to Jakarta, Bandung, Singapore, Bali and ended up at the island of Gili Trawangan, near Lombok.  Cian is still on holiday and hopefully still enjoying his time in Indonesia.  And I, being boring, had to cut the holiday short due to work.  I won't bore you with the details, but I'm not complaining... This work will pay for my next trip.

Anyway, I haven't been feeling well for the past few days.  Nothing serious, but please let me moan.  During the last part of our holiday at the Gili island, we stayed at a hostel... and you know what, we're (at least I am) too old for hostels. There are times when I was a teenager or in my early twenties when it's absolutely fine to travel, backpacker style... sharing rooms (and germs) with strangers, bunk beds, communal shower, etc... And I must have caught something.  Cian, if you are reading this, no more hostel please. 

I'll share more interesting stories from our travel in the next few posts.  Right now, I want to share with you guys this delicious roast chicken with kaffir lime leaves.  Kaffir lime leaves is my latest obsession. I absolutely love it. It has a very refreshing citrus scent and most importantly, tastes delicious too.  You might need to go to a specialty store to get it, and do check out the freezer section because the leaves freeze well too. I always buy it in bulk and store them in a ziploc bag in the freezer.

And as per usual, I only use the thighs and drumsticks here... and you know why, but I'll tell you again, because they have more flavour, more tender compare to breast meat and they are also cheaper.  But do use any parts of the chicken that you like.  Chicken wings will be delicious too.

This is a very easy and tasty chicken traybake.  And even though I feel giving measurements for the marinade aren't necessary because it's entirely up to your liking; but to the eight chicken portions, I add a clove of garlic that's been finely grated, 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons of honey, same of regular olive oil, the zest and juice of 1 lime, a tablespoon of finely chopped kaffir lime leaves and salt and pepper to taste.

The chickens only need to marinate for 2 to 4 hours in the fridge.  Certainly not overnight I think because the acid from the lime juice will start cooking the chicken.  And because they only need a short time, it's not a bad idea to make few slashes on the chicken using a sharp knife to ensure the flavour really gets into the meat, as pictured below.

Take the chickens out from the fridge for half an hour or so before baking them in a preheated 190 C oven for 35 to 40 minutes. I would also suggest that you line your baking tin with foil, because the honey in the marinade might burn and who needs the extra scrubbing when doing the dishes?! You're welcome.  

Serve the chickens with rice or potatoes, but even better, towards the end of the roasting time, make this holy guacamole spaghetti! You will not be disappointed.