BBQ season isn’t over yet! Try our September recipe of the month: BBQ Chicken, Roasted Carrots, Mereworth Cucumber and Feta.
Serves: 4 People
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
1 x whole chicken, spatchcocked
Zaatar – see recipe below
Olive oil
Pomegranate molasses
4 x coloured carrots
4 x gherkins
Pickling liquor – see recipe below
1 x block feta cheese – crumbled
Pickle for gherkins
100g white wine vinegar
100g caster sugar
100g water
5g mustard seeds
5g dill tips
5g caraway seeds
1 whole star anise
Zaatar
15g cumin seeds
10g coriander seeds
10g sumac
10g oregano
10g salt
Method
For the gherkins:
- Place the vinegar, water, and sugar in a pan and bring to the boil to dissolve the sugar.
- Add the mustard seeds, dill tips, caraway seeds, and star anise and remove from the heat.
- Top and tail the gherkins and cut length ways into quarters.
- Place them in a jar or container with a tight-fitting lid.
- Pour the pickling liquor over the gherkins and leave for at least an hour but ideally overnight.
To make the zaatar combine all the ingredients in a spice blender and ground to a powder.
For the chicken:
- Place the whole chicken breast side down on a chopping board.
- From the bottom cut along either side of the backbone using a sharp pair of scissors.
- Turn the chicken back over and press down between the breasts to flatten the breast bone.
- Drizzle with olive oil and then cover generously with zaatar spice.
- Griddle, bbq, or pan fry the chicken breast side down until it is well coloured all over.
- Turn and cook for another 8-10 minutes before putting into an over at 180 degrees C.
- Cook for approximately 40 minutes, until the internal temperature is over 75 degrees C.
- Remove from the oven and turn breast side up. Drizzle with pomegranate molasses and cover with foil to rest for 15 minutes.
- Break the chicken down into breasts, legs, and thighs. When serving use the pan juices as a sauce
For the carrots:
- Peel, top and tail, and quarter the carrots.
- Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt.
- Roast in a hot pan, and then transfer to the oven.
- Cook until tender, approximately 20 minutes.