Barbecued chicken 'devil style' with salsa verde

"Devil style" refers to the heat but you can omit the chilli flakes and just season the chickens with plenty of black pepper if you don't want them too fiery. This method of cooking chicken is one of my favourites. I find the legs cook quicker when the chicken is flattened, so the breast and leg meat are cooked closer to the same time.

2 x 2kg whole free-range chickens, butterflied

3 lemons

125ml extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

large pinch of chilli flakes

Salsa verde

60g stale sourdough bread, crusts removed

60ml milk

1 small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

2 tsp salted baby capers, rinsed well and drained

2 anchovy fillets

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp sea salt

125ml extra virgin olive oil

½ hard-boiled egg, finely chopped

freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the chickens on a board, skin side up, and roll over with a rolling pin, leaning heavily to flatten the chickens. Put the chickens in a wide, deep roasting tin, skin side up, and squeeze the juice from two of the lemons over the top. Drizzle with half the olive oil, then season with sea salt, plenty of black pepper and chilli flakes. Cover and marinate at room temperature for one hour.

2. Meanwhile, to make the salsa verde, soak the bread in the milk for about five minutes, then add to a food processor along with the parsley, capers, anchovies, lemon juice and sea salt. Chop until well combined. With the motor running, gradually pour in the olive oil to emulsify. Stir in the egg and season with black pepper.

3. Preheat a barbecue on medium heat.

4. Squeeze the juice from the remaining lemon into a small bowl, whisk in the remaining olive oil and season to taste, using plenty of pepper.

5. Remove the chickens from the marinade and place, skin side down, on the barbecue grill. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes or until the skin is well browned. Turn over and continue to cook, brushing with the lemon mixture every five minutes, for another 25–35 minutes or until the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a sharp knife. Set the chickens aside to rest for 10 minutes.

6. Transfer the chickens to a chopping board. Cut off the legs, then cut in half at the thigh and drumstick joint. Cut the breast in half down the middle, then cut each half into two pieces so that each piece has about the same amount of meat.

7. Arrange the chicken pieces on a large platter and serve with the salsa verde alongside.

Serves 8

Neil Perry's boiled corn: the smokiness of the chilli is addictive. Photo: Earl Carter

Boiled corn with butter and chilli

Once you've tasted sweet corn with butter and chipotle chilli there's no going back – the smokiness of the chilli is so addictive. It's also really tasty with a generous amount of fresh cheese finely grated all over the top. Queso fresco or ricotta salata would work well as they're both milky and mild.

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 corn cobs, cut into thirds

50g butter, diced

2 tsp chipotle chilli powder, or to taste

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add enough salt so it tastes like sea water. Add the corn and boil for six to eight minutes or until just tender – the fresher the corn, the less time it will take to cook. Drain and return to the pan.

2. Combine the butter with some sea salt and black pepper in a small bowl, then toss with the hot corn. Pile the corn onto a plate, sprinkle with the chipotle chilli powder to taste and serve.

Serves 4 as a side dish or as a snack

Recipes and images from Neil Perry's Good Cooking (Murdoch Books, RRP $45.99). Photographs Earl Carter.