Jerk Chicken with Avocado and Papaya Salad

In the Jamaican airport I bought myself a cookbook called Eat Caribbean by Virginia Burke to read on the plane.  It’s fabulous–full of colorful photographs and delicious recipes.  I read the whole thing by the end of the second flight, and already knew I wanted to try jerk chicken right away.  Since Ben and I are trying to eat more lightly for spring, I decided to opt for the recipe with jerk chicken on top of a tropical avocado and papaya salad.  (Have I mentioned how much I love papayas?  If you don’t, or you can’t find one, I bet this would be great with grapefruit, too.)

The jerk seasoning has a lot of ingredients, but is super quick to make.  This recipe makes about 2/3 of a cup, so you can store the extra in your fridge and try it on other meats or seafood.  I am pretty much dying to try jerk everything.  The cookbook even has a recipe for jerk hamburgers!  How fabulous does that sound?

This salad was a wonderful light dinner.  The citrusy dressing, creamy avocado, sweet papaya, and spiced chicken complement each other perfectly.  I will definitely be making this again soon!

This recipe is adapted from Eat Caribbean and serves 3-4.

Ingredients for the jerk seasoning:

6 scallions, trimmed
1-3 scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, seeded and trimmed (I chickened out and used half a pepper, and it wasn’t hot at all.  So I recommend using at least one whole pepper!)
1 teaspoon allspice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup cane, malt, or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon oil

Blend all ingredients in the food processor to form a paste.  Store in the refrigerator.

Ingredients for the jerk chicken:

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1.5 pounds)
Salt or lime juice
1-2 tablespoons jerk seasoning (The recipe called for 1, but I thought the chicken could have used more flavor)
1 tablespoon oil, plus some for cooking

Prepare a bowl of salt water, or water with the juice of 1 lime, and rinse the chicken pieces in it.  Pat dry.  Rub the chicken with the jerk seasoning and oil, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Heat a bit of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken pieces and cook, turning occasionally, until well-browned on both sides and cooked through, about 15 minutes total.