Chicken pitta
This simple chicken pitta makes a filling lunch or a quick and easy dinner when you want a tasty meal that takes less than 10 minutes to cook.
Each serving provides 854 kcal, 47g protein, 54g carbohydrates (of which 15g sugars), 49g fat (of which 6g saturates), 7g fibre and 1.3g salt.
Ingredients
For the piri-piri sauce
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp hot smoked paprika
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp lemon juice
For the chicken pitta
- 1 chicken breast, skin removed, cut in half lengthways
- ½ lemon, zest plus 1 tsp juice
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tbsp plain yoghurt
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- ¼ onion, very thinly sliced
- 1 large pitta bread (or 2 mini pitta breads), warmed or toasted
- 2 large lettuce leaves
- 1 carrot, peeled and then grated, shredded or peeled into ribbons
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
For the piri-piri sauce, mix the vinegar, oil, paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Spoon 2 teaspoons of the sauce into a bowl and set aside.
Lay the chicken fillets in a shallow dish, pour over the rest of the marinade and turn the chicken a few times to thoroughly coat. Leave for 10 minutes or chill for a few hours.
Mix the lemon zest, a teaspoon lemon juice, garlic, yoghurt and mayonnaise together to create a creamy sauce. Place the onion in a sieve and rinse with boiling water – this stops it being too strong.
Heat a frying pan until really hot and add the chicken fillets, shaking off any excess marinade into the shallow dish. Fry, turning halfway, for about 5 minutes until browned and cooked through. Towards the end, carefully drizzle the marinade from the dish over the chicken, it will splutter and steam but it should keep the chicken moist.
Stuff the bread with lettuce, carrot, onion and plenty of garlic sauce. Shred or cut the chicken into strips, toss with the reserved marinade and stuff into the bread. Serve immediately.
Recipe Tips
This homemade piri-piri marinade is super simple, but you can replace it with a shop-bought piri-piri sauce if you prefer. Add any favourite salad items like avocado, sliced tomato, cucumber or shredded cabbage.
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