Can you almost smell the rotisserie chicken? Because this week I made a household (takeout) favorite: Peruvian chicken!

But first, let’s go back to my trip to Peru in 2014. I had traveled to Ecuador for a wedding and decided to extend for a week to visit nearby Peru with the express purpose of visiting Machu Picchu. To clarify I didn’t do the three day hike with a group but opted for the “bus from Miraflores” option which I always mention when people ask if they have to do the hike. I’m sure it’s amazing, but that wasn’t the path I had planned for. My only regret was not hiking up the larger of the two mountains behind me. I had the pass to do it but after seeing so many hardcore hikers with their gear, and most importantly their footwear, I opted against it. I’m a true novice when it comes to this stuff and being there by myself, this was a risk I didn’t take. But look at those views! It was a great experience all around. Plus here’s a bonus pic of me making chocolate in Lima.

In addition to visiting this sacred place, I also spent some time in Lima eating at some fantastic restaurants and exploring the neighborhoods including Miraflores. However probably my favorite city there was Cusco. And as a timely memory…I also watched a World Cup game at a bar near the town square. I loved the festival atmosphere that abounded, the dancing in the square at night, and of course the food! Probably one of my favorite dishes while I was there was Aji de Gallina, which I have cooked before and highly recommend. But for this effort, I wanted to make something a bit lighter and given the other signature dish of the region, Lomo Saltado, just seemed to heavy as well for the week heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, I opted for Peruvian Chicken. One of the keys to a great taste on this is a long marinade. This chicken, which I split into halves, rested in the rub for at least 8 hours, but I think it could have even gone a bit more. The result was so flavorful and I also LOVED the green spicy sauce that I served with it. I was surprised by some of the ingredients (which included feta, jalapeno and cilantro) but the end result was something I’d make for a poultry glaze or dip any time.

Here’s the recipe I used: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018974-peruvian-roasted-chicken-with-spicy-cilantro-sauce

Overall Level of Effort: 1

Skill Level: Beginner

Would Make it Again? Absolutely yes.

Additional Notes: The recipe suggests you can do chicken parts for this which I think will also work well but I love a good bone-in chicken breast so I opted to split a whole chicken.