ONIMA recipes
Lemon Ginger Chicken with Cajun Sumac Green Beans
Roast chicken with a Lemon Ginger Jerk and shallot pan sauce, served with Cajun Sumac brown-butter green beans and crispy shallots.
- Yield
- 4 portions
Original recipe
Ingredients
Chicken and shallots
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (thighs or drumsticks), 900–1100 g total
- 250 g regular shallots, peeled and halved lengthways; leave root ends attached
- 15 ml olive oil: 10 ml for shallots, 5 ml for chicken
- 6 g fine salt: 1 g for shallots, 5 g for chicken
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 4 small sprigs fresh thyme
- 30 ml water, only if the pan threatens to scorch
Chicken pan sauce
- 150 ml unsalted chicken stock
- 45 ml ONIMA Lemon Ginger Jerk (3 tbsp), shaken well
- 20 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 5 g flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
- 10 ml fresh lemon juice (2 tsp)
Beans and brown butter
- 600 g trimmed green beans, flat or slender round (buy about 650 g)
- 60 g unsalted butter, cubed
- 30 ml ONIMA Cajun Sumac (2 tbsp), shaken well
- 15 ml water (1 tbsp)
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 0.5 g fine salt, only if needed at the end
Crispy shallots
- 120 g peeled shallots, sliced into 2 mm rings
- 150 ml sunflower or other neutral oil, for frying
- 0.5 g fine salt, for the crispy shallots
Blanching and cooling
- 2 litres water, for blanching
- 12 g fine salt, for blanching
- Cold water and ice, for cooling the beans
Step by step
-
Prepare
Heat the oven to 220°C conventional / 200°C fan, middle shelf. Pat the chicken skin dry. Toss shallots in the pan with 10 ml oil and 1 g salt, cut sides down. Tuck thyme among them.
-
Season and roast
Rub the chicken with the remaining 5 ml oil, 5 g salt and pepper. Nestle skin-side up among the shallots in one layer, with the skin exposed. Roast for about 35-45 minutes. At 25 minutes, rotate the pan and turn exposed shallots into the juices. If drippings threaten to burn, add the 30 ml water down the side.
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Fry the shallots
Put shallot rings and 150 ml oil in the cold 16 cm saucepan. Set over medium heat. Cook for about 8-12 minutes, stirring often and lowering heat if they colour quickly. Lift out when pale golden; they darken as they cool. Drain on paper towel, spread apart and sprinkle with 0.5 g salt. Set the frying oil aside; it does not go into the bean sauce.
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Blanch and dry
Bring 2 litres water and 12 g salt to a boil. Add trimmed beans and cook for 3-5 minutes, until bright green and just tender with a little bite; wider flat beans may need longer. Transfer to ice water for 1 minute. Drain, then dry thoroughly on a clean tea towel.
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Check and remove
Check each chicken piece in its thickest part, clear of bone: at least 74°C / 165°F. Return under-temperature pieces to the oven. Move cooked chicken to a warm plate, skin up. Leave the soft shallots in the pan; discard thyme stems. Protect the hot pan handle with an oven mitt.
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Deglaze and reduce
Spoon off excess clear fat, leaving about 15 ml plus the brown juices and shallots. Add 150 ml stock over medium heat and scrape up the golden-brown fond; avoid any blackened spots. Simmer until the liquid reduces by roughly a third, about 2-4 minutes. Stir the softened shallots into the sauce; they should break down rather than remain a separate garnish. Add chicken resting juices.
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Brown the butter
Melt 60 g butter in the 28 cm pan over medium heat. Swirl often for about 3-5 minutes, until the foam subsides enough to reveal golden-brown milk solids and a nutty smell. Remove from the heat before the solids become dark.
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Add Cajun Sumac
Leave the pan off the heat for 45-60 seconds, until vigorous bubbling subsides. Carefully stir in 30 ml Cajun Sumac and 15 ml water; the pan may still hiss. Scrape in all the brown butter solids.
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Keep the chicken warm
Return the chicken skin-side up to the reduced pan juices over the lowest heat while bringing the beans to serving temperature. Keep this hold brief. Lift the chicken onto warm plates again before finishing the sauce.
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Coat and plate
Add dry beans and pepper. Return to low heat and turn with tongs for 1-2 minutes, until hot and coated. Taste; add the final 0.5 g salt only if needed. Keep ready to plate with the chicken.
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Finish off heat
Remove the pan from the heat. When bubbling subsides, stir in 45 ml Lemon Ginger Jerk. Stir in the parsley and 10 ml lemon juice, then swirl in the 20 g cold butter until incorporated. Do not boil after adding the butter.
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Plate together
Spoon the finished shallot sauce onto the chicken. Serve with the Cajun Sumac green beans, topped with their crispy shallots. Serve immediately.
The whole recipe, at a glance
Your cooking chart.
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| Ingredients | Preparation flow | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (thighs or drumsticks), 900–1100 g total | Roast chicken and shallots; check each piece is cooked through. | Remove chicken. Deglaze and reduce the shallot pan sauce. | Keep chicken briefly warm; remove, then finish the sauce off heat. | Spoon sauce onto chicken and plate with beans and crispy shallots. |
| 250 g regular shallots, peeled and halved lengthways; leave root ends attached | ||||
| 15 ml olive oil: 10 ml for shallots, 5 ml for chicken | ||||
| 6 g fine salt: 1 g for shallots, 5 g for chicken | ||||
| ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper | ||||
| 4 small sprigs fresh thyme | ||||
| 30 ml water, only if the pan threatens to scorch | ||||
| 150 ml unsalted chicken stock | ||||
| 45 ml ONIMA Lemon Ginger Jerk (3 tbsp), shaken well | ||||
| 20 g cold unsalted butter, cubed | ||||
| 5 g flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped | ||||
| 10 ml fresh lemon juice (2 tsp) | ||||
| 600 g trimmed green beans, flat or slender round (buy about 650 g) | Blanch the beans, cool in ice water and dry thoroughly. | Warm the beans in the brown butter; season to taste. | ||
| 2 litres water, for blanching | ||||
| 12 g fine salt, for blanching | ||||
| Cold water and ice, for cooling the beans | ||||
| 60 g unsalted butter, cubed | Brown the butter; add Cajun Sumac and water off heat. | |||
| 30 ml ONIMA Cajun Sumac (2 tbsp), shaken well | ||||
| 15 ml water (1 tbsp) | ||||
| ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper | ||||
| 0.5 g fine salt, only if needed at the end | ||||
| 120 g peeled shallots, sliced into 2 mm rings | Fry shallot rings until pale golden; drain and salt. | |||
| 150 ml sunflower or other neutral oil, for frying | ||||
| 0.5 g fine salt, for the crispy shallots | ||||
Equipment and notes
A 30 cm ovenproof frying pan, about 5 cm deep; a 16 cm saucepan; a 3-litre pot; a 28 cm frying pan with a light-coloured interior; thermometer, mitts, tongs, sieve, bowls, colander, scales, measuring jug, clean tea towel and paper towel.
Make the crispy shallots and blanch and dry the beans while the chicken roasts. Finish the beans as the chicken pan sauce reduces.
The photographs show mixed bone-in chicken pieces and flat green beans. Use the stated total chicken weight, check each piece for doneness and cook the beans until just tender. Cooking times are guides.
When scaling, keep chicken in a single layer and use additional pans as needed. Keep the frying oil deep enough for the shallots and the blanching water sufficient to cover the beans. Do not multiply cooking times or temperatures.