CAJUN ALLIGATOR WITH SWEET POTATO & SALSA
What To Cook Today recipe - Malaysian/Indonesian
- Prep time
- 14 min
- Cook time
- 31 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 4 sweet potatoes ((about 1/2 lb each) wrapped in aluminum foil)
- 1 3/4 lbs alligator tail ((if you can get a hold of them), chicken breasts, or pork loin, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices)
- CAJUN MARINADE:
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- A small bunch of fresh oregano (, leaves picked)
- A small bunch of fresh thyme (, leaves picked)
- 1 fresh bay leaf (, spine removed, leaf torn into pieces)
- 2 cloves of garlic peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp whole-grain mustard
- SALSA:
- 3 scallions (, trimmed and minced)
- 1/2 fresh red chile (,or to taste, seeded and minced)
- 2 green tomatoes (, diced)
- 1 red tomato (, seeded and diced)
- A small bunch of fresh curly parsley (, finely chopped)
- 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- 1
Get started by making your marinade. Whack the cayenne, paprika, and a pinch each of salt and pepper into a pestle and mortar with the fresh herbs and rind them together. Add your garlic, olive oil, and mustard and grind again - the oil will help all the flavors come out. When you've got a thick sticky paste, transfer it to a large bowl and toss your pieces of meat in it until they are completely coated. Cover with a plastic wrap, then pop the bowl into the refrigerator and leave for at least 20 to 30 minutes or, if you really want those flavors to do their work, for a few hours or even overnight
- 2
Preheat your oven to 400 F and pop your aluminum foil- wrapped sweet potatoes in to roast for about 1 hour. When they're nearly ready, make your salsa. It's lovely and fresh, with the right amount of heat, crunch, herbiness, acid, and salt to bring it all to life. Put all your salsa ingredients into a bowl, with a good pinch of sea salt to bring out the flavor of the tomatoes. Give it all a good mix
- 3
When the sweet potatoes are ready, take them out of the oven but leave them in the foil so they stay warm. Put a large frying pan or wok on a high heat and get it screaming hot. Quickly but carefully add your pieces of marinated meat and let them cook for a few minutes on each side so they get some nice color
- 4
Unwrap your sweet potatoes and put them on plates. Score them down the midle, then gently squeeze them so they pucker up. serve your lovely cooked meat on top, and cover with a few spoonfuls of fresh salsa. And that's it - beautiful meat, soft sweet potatoes, and fresh lively salsa. The meal is complete