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Title may be fake, tasty result is real

There's nothing Peruvian about this chicken. At least not in an authentic sense. The name refers to a common and popular rotisserie chicken found on the East Coast. The dish is also known as Super Chicken, El Pollo Rico and Pollo a La Brasa. And those chickens may be authentic. But this is my approximation of the dish, bastardized further by being roasted in an oven rather than cooked over an open flame.

It started with an article I read about things to make with leftover rotisserie chicken, you know, those that are sold packaged, hot and ready to go in heated displays near the front of the store and deli, which tempt hungry shoppers with a homey, heady aroma. The trouble was the only rotisserie chickens I could find locally were plain, barbecued or herb-and-garlic-flavored.

So I did a little digging on the Internet and found several recipes for Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken from scratch. It was easy enough to adapt the recipe for roasting, although I'm positive cooking this chicken on a rotisserie or splitting it and cooking it on the grill would take it from delicious to outstanding.

The meat was tender and flavorful, even the breast after a little over-roasting. The whole chicken was much too much for my husband and me to eat in one meal, so I turned the leftovers into soup. If soup sounds too wintry, the mixture makes a fantastic filling for enchiladas and burritos (just use a bit less broth).

Peruvian Chicken

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 1/2 tablespoons cumin

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 (3- to 5-pound) whole chicken

Combine vinegar, water and oil with garlic powder, cumin, paprika, black pepper and salt and mix well to form a paste.

Using your fingers, gently loosen the skin on the chicken. Rub the spice mixture under and over skin and inside cavity. Let chicken "marinate" at least 15 minutes; if time permits, refrigerate spice-rubbed chicken up to 2 hours before roasting.

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Place chicken in a roasting pan. Roast chicken at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 degrees and continue roasting until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees, about 1 hour 45 minutes total.

Makes about 4 servings.

Leftover Peruvian Chicken Soup

Vegetable oil

1 onion, finely diced

1 red bell pepper, finely diced

1 large carrot, finely diced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon chile powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 (15-ounce) can pinto or black beans, rinsed

1 cup fresh, frozen or canned corn kernels (rinsed if using canned)

3 to 4 cups chicken broth

2 cups diced or shredded leftover Peruvian chicken

1/3 cup long-grain rice

Cilantro leaves, for garnish, optional

In a Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat just enough oil to coat over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Stir in the garlic, cumin, chile powder and oregano and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the beans, corn, 3 cups of the chicken broth, chicken and rice. Stir well to submerge the rice into the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 30 minutes. If soup is too thick, add more broth or water to thin to desired consistency.

Serve garnished with cilantro.

Makes about 4 servings.

Food on 08/27/2014

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