I am always looking for different, innovative ways to serve good healthy food. This Ray McVinnie recipe caught my eye as I had a few zucchinis and lemons to use up (perfect.... our lemon tree is heavy with fruit this year) and the recipe also included Sumac, a spice I knew very little about. I searched on the internet for more information, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumac and learnt some very interesting facts about Sumac for this post. The Sumac spice comes from the fruit of a small tree or bush which in itself has quite an ancient history. Over many, many centuries the bush been used in a variety of ways by many different cultures. The things you learn when blogging! Back to the recipe...
As a lemony flavoured spice, Sumac adds quite a nice distinctive taste to a dish. We enjoyed it in the Chicken Pockets and had the mixture leftovers for a light lunch dish the next day. I loved the flavour and I am now on the look out for more recipes that includes Sumac! (This dish would work equally well for vegetarians, you could just leave out the chicken and add diced Agria potatoes or any vegetable that you consider would be enhanced by a lemony flavour).
The chicken part of the recipe can be made ahead of time and everything assembled into the 'pockets' when it is required. I slightly adjusted Ray McVinnie's ingredients as I had some tortilla wraps left over in the fridge but I am sure it would be tasty in Pita breads. It occurred to me it was another way to make a little pie, probably better for you than pastry if you are watching the calories.
When folding the round flat bread, I just folded in two, then folded again and just filled one side of 'pockets' with the chicken mixture and placed them (the thicker side up) in a shallow meat dish lined with baking paper. I secured the pocket with a long toothpick to make sure the top did not turn back with cooking.
It worked well and I really hope you enjoy them...
Chicken Baked in Pita Bread
(Ray McVinnie – SST – Nov 2012)
As a lemony flavoured spice, Sumac adds quite a nice distinctive taste to a dish. We enjoyed it in the Chicken Pockets and had the mixture leftovers for a light lunch dish the next day. I loved the flavour and I am now on the look out for more recipes that includes Sumac! (This dish would work equally well for vegetarians, you could just leave out the chicken and add diced Agria potatoes or any vegetable that you consider would be enhanced by a lemony flavour).
The chicken part of the recipe can be made ahead of time and everything assembled into the 'pockets' when it is required. I slightly adjusted Ray McVinnie's ingredients as I had some tortilla wraps left over in the fridge but I am sure it would be tasty in Pita breads. It occurred to me it was another way to make a little pie, probably better for you than pastry if you are watching the calories.
When folding the round flat bread, I just folded in two, then folded again and just filled one side of 'pockets' with the chicken mixture and placed them (the thicker side up) in a shallow meat dish lined with baking paper. I secured the pocket with a long toothpick to make sure the top did not turn back with cooking.
It worked well and I really hope you enjoy them...
Chicken Baked in Pita Bread
(Ray McVinnie – SST – Nov 2012)
Ingredients
4tbsp olive
oil
2 onions,
chopped
4 zucchini,
thinly sliced
1 small
carrot, diced 1cm
Zest of 1
lemon
3 cloves
garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp ground
sumac
6 free
range, skinned boned chicken thighs, diced to 3cm
Lemon juice
to taste
Salt and
pepper
4 pita
breads (or 6 tortilla wraps)
4 tbsp
butter melted
2 tbsp
sesame seeds
200ml Greek
yoghurt
Greek
yoghurt, cucumber, lemon wedges, coriander and mint leaves.
Method
Preheat oven
to 190°C
Heat a
frying pan over a moderate heat and add the onion, zucchini, carrot, zest,
garlic, cinnamon, sumac and chicken.
Fry gently
for 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft and the chicken cooked. Taste and
add lemon juice to taste and season.
Open the
pita breads (or fold the tortilla wraps in half then half again) into pockets
and stuff the chicken mixture evenly into them.
Place stuffed
pitas ( or wraps) side by side in a roasting dish and brush each with melted
butter. Sprinkle with salt and sesame seeds.
Place in
oven for 10-15 minutes until the bread is crisp and lightly browned and the
filling hot.
Remove from
the oven and serve with Greek yoghurt, sliced cucumber, lemon wedges, a drizzle
of extra virgin olive oil and coriander and mint leaves.
