Spicy Chicken in Pitta Bread

Now, I'd love to be able to tell you that we made our own pitta bread to go with this spicy chicken, but alas no.  Maybe one day!

This poor old meal was started - in that I put the chicken into its marinade - quite some time before we actually ate it.  This was because Son & heir decided to offer his services (quite rightly) to his school for an open evening aimed at the parents of the new intake for this year.  As a result, we suddenly became pushed for time that evening, as we had to have him back at school all washed, brushed and presentable in (pretty much) the time it took to turn around.  So, for speed reasons - and only for speed reasons - we dived into Macdonalds and the boys had a burger and I had a sweet chilli wrap.  Those wraps are a bit of a lifesaver for me, as I really don't like burgers!

Then, on the following evening, Son & heir was invited out for a sleepover and wasn't in for dinner.  It seemed daft to be making a whole Broccoli & Goat's Cheese tart just for the two of us (which was previously booked in for that night).   So, instead of eating the pitta breads for lunch (as was the mark 2 plan) we moved them on to dinner time instead (mark 3 plan).

So hence, the chicken had been marinating for some 32 hours by the time I got to cooking it.  I'm a bit scared that, when I decided to do this recipe again, if I marinate the chicken for any less time than 32 hours, it won't be anything like as nice.  I guess we'll have to wait and see!

As a "simple to make" dinner, you'd have to go a long way to beat this one.  Once marinated, the chicken goes into a frying pan to cook.  In the meantime, you warm up some pitta breads, split them and coat the insides with a mixture of hoummus and greek yoghurt.  Then stuff with lettuce and tomato and add the chicken once it's done.  Easy!

The surprising part about the entire recipe was how filling the pittas are!  I made us two each and neither of us could get through the entire second one.  In future, I reckon one each, stuffed to the brim with chicken, accompanied by some chips or a small jacket potato, would be ample.

SPICY CHICKEN in PITTA BREAD (serves 2 hungry people, 3 moderately hungry people or 4 people with accompanying chips or couscous)


Ingredients :


3 chicken breasts, diced into small pieces
2 limes, juiced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
a small bunch of fresh mint, chopped finely
1 tbsp olive oil
sufficient lettuce for the amount of pittas you'll be making
a vine-ripened round tomato, diced small, per pitta
3 tbsp hoummus
3 tbsp greek yoghurt
pitta breads, recommend 1 per person.

Method :

1.  To marinade the chicken, place the lime juice, cumin, coriander, turmeric and mint into a bowl and mix to combine.  Add the chicken pieces and stir to make sure each piece is liberally coated in the marinade.  Cover and place in the fridge until you are ready to proceed.


2.  Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the chicken and marinade plus seasoning.  Cook on a high heat until the chicken has taken on some colour and is cooked through, with no evidence of any pinkness at all.


3.  In a small bowl, combine the hoummus with the greek yoghurt and season to taste.


4.  To assemble, lightly toast the pitta bread then split it down one side.  Coat the inside of each pitta with the hoummus mixture, then stuff with the chicken, lettuce and tomato.


5.  Serve.


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Meal planning for a sudden summer : w/b 27.9.11

Where has all this lovely weather come from?  *blink*

Just this time last week, I was shivering under several layers of clothing whilst writing blog posts for Rhubarb & Ginger and resisting putting the heating on!  Now, I'm sitting here with the window open beside me, perfectly comfortable again.

So all of this made meal planning for this week a bit tricky.  I didn't much fancy sitting in a hot kitchen for hours making hot meals, but the natural cautiousness borne of mistrust of the weather forecasters made scheduling light salads unlikely.

There is one other change to the parameters for scheduling, which is that I am now no longer working at the Hotel Piccadilly.  It was with very great regret that I handed in my notice last week, due to the onward march of my arthritis and accompanying pain.  Coincidentally, I also discover that I am suffering with cellulitis (which has nothing to do with cellulite, interestingly) in my lower legs - which is also causing huge amounts of discomfort.  I'm now on some big antibiotics which have stopped my legs appearing to be horribly sunburned (thank goodness), but the itching (which just about drove me mad) is slow to leave.  I could do the work okay, it was just getting there, getting up the stairs, sitting for four hours and then reversing the whole procedure, that I couldn't do.

So the upshot of all this is that now Hubby can choose which days he wants to cook on - and it also means that I'll be here more to be able to do some prep. in the afternoons, if necessary.

Here's how this week is hoping to shape up :

Tues : Pizza for boys, Peppered Mackerel & Sweetfire® beetroot couscous

with horseradish cream for us adults

Wed : Spicy chicken pittas with salad

Thur : Tenderstem broccoli & Goat cheese tart with zesty beetroot salad

Fri : Tortellini with garlic bread

Sat : Chicken Caesar Salad

Sun : Pot roast bacon, accompaniments depend on the weather

Mon : Sausage, mash and baked beans.

I've been just busting to tell you all about the Smoked Peppered Mackerel and Sweetfire® beetroot couscous that we had on Tuesday, but as I try to keep the blog postings in chronological order according to the menu plan, I had a couple of postings to get through before I could - and that includes this one!  So, watch out for the next blog post - oh, but it's a good one!

Wednesday's Spicy chicken pittas unfortunately got stamped all over by Son & heir volunteering to help with a school open evening.  We wound up grabbing a quick burger (or a sweet chilli wrap, in my case) and back to school.  However, because the chicken is marinading (in lime juice and curry spices - mmmn!) hubby and I will have a (hopefully) spectacular lunch today.  I'll let you know!  lol

Which of course, begs the question about whether we'll have room for the Goat's Cheese tart and zesty beetroot salad for dinner tonight.  Hang on a minute - Tenderstem broccoli and Goat's Cheese in a filo pastry base?  Yes, I think we'll find room.

Tomorrow's tortellini is hubby's night to cook and before you all get excited and think he's making his own tortellini, stop right there because he's not.  It's good old shop bought, put into a home-made sauce (which hasn't been decided on, until we decide which flavour tortellini we're getting).  I haven't had filled pasta of any type in probably two years, so it will be a nice diversion from the norm!

I understand from the weather forecast that Saturday is going to be the hottest day of the week, so hence I've scheduled a Chicken Caesar Salad, as a method of self-preservation.  The chicken will cook in the oven and the rest is a simple case of assembly, with a bit of grating and whisking involved.  I should be able to manage that, even if the temperatures are in the high twenties!

Sunday is another "left open to eventualities" dinner.  The one bit we can be sure about, is the pot roast bacon, which I'll do in the slow cooker.  As to whether we have a salad, or a courgette bake, or roast vegetables with it, is all dependent upon what the weather forecast for Sunday is likely to be!

Monday brings hubby back to the helm in the kitchen and he's doing our ultimate family favourite of sausage and mash.  I suspect we'll wind up just having baked beans with them, but that tends to depend on how creative hubby is feeling at the time, what vegetables we have left in the fridge and how hot the kitchen is likely to be!

Oh, and speaking of hubby being creative - we've a new toy to play with!  We bought an ice cream maker (on special offer at Comet).  So far, he's made a Salted Caramel ice cream which is truly To Die For, but doesn't really suit his diabetes, so next he's exploring frozen yoghurt, so that at least he gets the chance to eat some of his creations!

I dare say I'll be blogging the Salted Caramel ice cream, as it is just SO gorgeous, it has to be shared.

Incidentally, I just just give over a line or two to hubby's Sausage Plait that he made at the end of last week.  I thought it was yummy, son & heir agreed with me, however hubby wasn't keen on it at all, so I won't be passing on the recipe.  He says he's sure he can improve on it, at which stage the recipe can be passed on - which is fair enough.

He mixed Cumberland sausagemeat with caramelised onion, sage, pepper and apple which he'd finely diced.  I thought it was as nice cold with chutney the next day as it had been the previous night, with hash browns and salad!  If this was the less-than-good version, then I'm looking forward to the improved version!

  

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