We did a menu tasting for a wedding, with a twist, its a buffet served to the guests and the Bride and Groom would like a Traditional Chicken rice and Peas served, Its the grooms family recipe… with our twist!

Chicken, Rice and Peas with Fried Plantain

Ingredients
3 kg of large chicken thighs
A sprinkle of dried  Ginger
1  teaspoon of Paprika
Few drops of Soy  Sauce
Pinch ground black  pepper
1 teaspoon  fresh Thyme
2  Cloves Garlic – crushed and chopped
2  Large onions diced into  large chunks
A few sprinkles of fresh  Rosemary
Knob of  Butter
3 tablespoons plain flour
1 pint of fresh chicken stock (brown)
160g Reggae Reggae Sauce
2 plantain

For the Rice
150g Fresh Red Kidney Beans
Large sprig of fresh  Thyme
1  large onion finely diced
1 large clove garlic  crushed
Ground black  pepper
50g Creamed Coconut
500g Easy  Cook Long Grain  Rice

Method
For  the chicken &  sauce
Wash the chicken in water and  vinegar. Rinse and then trim off  the excess fat and skin leaving  only the skin on the top of the thighs. Then  slide a few groves into  the top of the chicken skin.
Put the chicken thighs  into a large  bowl. Add the Ginger, Paprika, All Purpose and Chicken Seasoning,   Soy Sauce, Black Pepper, Thyme, Garlic, Onions, and Rosemary and  work into  Chicken with hands (wear gloves).
Preheat the oven to  180 degrees (gas mark  5).
Grease a deep baking tray with butter  and then place the chicken and  half of the onions onto the tray.  Cover with foil and place in centre of the  oven. Cook for about 90  minutes basting throughout.
For the  sauce
Melt a large  spoon of Butter in a pan on full heat and add the  remaining onions.  Stir in the flour and lower the heat slightly. Leave for 5   minutes.
Remove from the heat and sprinkle the gravy granules  over and stir  it right in. Return to the heat and add ½ cup of  boiling water and stir into a  paste. Keep stirring over the heat and  then a ½ a cup again stirring in. Don’t  allow the gravy to get too  thick as it is a pouring sauce. Repeat adding ½  cups of water and  stirring several times. Add water as required. Keep  stirring.
Add  the Reggae Reggae sauce and a splash of red wine and stir in.  Remove  from heat and put to one side.
When the Chicken has been in the oven   for just over an hour  take the foil off and turn up the heat  and blast  for 20 minutes to crisp up the skin, again basting once or  twice.
The pour  over slightly more than half over the gravy and  lower the heat again. Return  to the oven for a further 30 minutes or  so. Use the rest of the gravy to pour  over the rice when  serving.

For the rice
Soak the  Kidney beans  in fresh cold water. Leave overnight.
Rinse and then bring to  the  boil in fresh cold water. Adding the Thyme, Garlic and black   pepper.
Chuck in the creamed coconut and allow to dissolve then  stir  in.
Add a cup of boiling water from the kettle &  simmer.
Wash and  rinse rice.  Remove about half of the beans  from the pan. Add the rice to  the pan and stir. Put in more boiling  water from the kettle so that there is  about 4 cups over water over  the rice (inc the water that’s already in). Put  on high heat with  the lids on until it’s boiling. Stir and then put on low  heat with  the lid back on.  It will take about 20-30 minutes. Keep   checking. And try not to get tempted to add more water as it  shouldn’t need  it. Of e4course if it does need more water then add a  small amount at a time  from the hot from the kettle. Turn the rice  off when you think it’s almost  done and then keep the lid on allow  steam to finish it off. Remove any big  sprigs of thyme and  serve.

The Plantain
Cut the  plantain into  long thin slices and shallow fry until soft in the middle and slightly crisp on the  outside.