Hot & sour cherry sauce with crispy chicken

 

I have adapted this recipe from the original which called for a boned flattened chicken to serve 6. This version gives 2 generous serves.

Ingredients
2 chicken Maryland
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 small red onions, halved
coriander sprigs, for serving

Hot & sour cherry sauce
1 cup (125g) cherries, pitted, halved
1/3 cup (70g) brown sugar, firmly packed
30g caster sugar
1 piece star anise
40ml Chinkiang vinegar
1 long green or red chili roughly chopped
A little lemon zest

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced).  

Place chicken onto an oven tray or shallow pan with baking paper.

Rub chicken all over with oil and season generously with sea salt flakes.
Roast for 1 hour or until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear. If you plan to serve with jacket potatoes toss these in the pan with the chicken. Add onions to the tray halfway through cooking time.

Preparing the sauce 

While the chicken is cooking, combine all sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan. Stir until mixture comes to the boil then cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 mins or until cherries are soft. Cool slightly, discard star anise; blend until smooth.

Pour sauce over chicken to serve with sprigs of coriander and extra cherries.

Chook’s notes: The sauce makes about 1½ cups. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze to use later – it goes well with lamb fillets. The original recipe suggested gently pushing butter under the skin. I think the meat has sufficient rich juices without the need for butter. It's simply a matter of personal choice.