A Little Pita Magic

Posted by Michael on Apr 16, 2010 in Recipes | 2 comments

Like a teenager with a new weird haircut, every so often I go through a new phase.

Mine doesn’t centre around angst and rebellion though, I’m just talking food.

Lately I’ve been all about Middle-Eastern flavours.  I find myself craving allspice and cinnamon every day, dreaming of lemony tabouli, beetroot pickles and slow-roasted spicy meats.

Last weekend I had a wrap from Nadha’s Egyptian Food in the Moncton Market and that only made the cravings even worse (or better?).

Pita has been the bread of choice in my house for the past couple of weeks and thankfully we have a fantastic local source for pitas with Mother Nature’s on Rothesay Avenue.

Thankfully as well, my four-year-old daughter seems more than willing to eat anything as long as it comes in a pita and is covered with globs of garlicky tzatziki.  I’m craving spicy food and Alexandra is my enabler.  This is good.

Anyway, last night I kept the theme going with a spicy chicken wrap packed with vegetables and tzatziki, which I present here.   I bought bone-in chicken thighs then removed the bones myself (great for stock – keep ‘em!) but you can just buy boneless thighs if you want.  Be sure to get thighs with skin though, as the fat is important to keep the chicken moist.   Chicken thighs are probably the best choice here as breast meat tends to dry out to much and go grainy.  Thighs are nearly impossible to overcook and the flavour is great.

Spicy chicken pita wraps

The chicken:

Six or more chicken thighs, bone removed

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

pinch of cinnamon

several good grinds of nutmeg

ground cayenne to taste (optional)

good pinch of salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 F.   Place all the boned chicken thighs with skin on in a big dish.  Mix together the spices and sprinkle them over the chicken.  Sprinkle the chicken with the olive oil then use your hands to really massage the spices all through the chicken.   Thread all the chicken onto a metal skewer and pack it together tightly so it’s like a big roast.   Place a wire rack on a baking dish that has a cup or so of water in it and put the chicken skewer on top of the rack.   Roast uncovered for 30 minutes to 45 minutes, turning once, until browned all over.  Lower heat to 325 F and continue to roast for another 45 minutes to an hour.   This will render off a lot of the fat, leaving a crisp-coated rack of spicy chicken.   Let the chicken rest for 10 to 15 minutes before using a serrated knife to slice off bits of the chicken into a serving dish.  Keep warm until ready to serve.

Easy Tzatziki

1-1/2 cups Balkan style yogurt

6 inch piece of English cucumber

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

Juice of half a lemon

pinch of salt and pepper

Line a fine strainer with a clean tea towel over a bowl and drop in the yogurt.   Fold the tea towel over the yogurt and put something heavy like a jar of pickles on top to weight it down.  After about 45 minutes, you’ll drain off a 1/4 cup or so of water.   Peel the cucumber and slice in half.   Remove the seeds with a spoon and discard.  Roughly chop the cucumber and place in a food processor with the garlic and a few spoonfuls of the drained yogurt.   Process until very smooth.  Remove to a bowl and mix in the rest of the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.  Try not to eat all of this dip before your actual meal.  Good luck.

Easy Hummus

1 14 oz can chick peas, drained and rinsed

1 large clove garlic

1 heaping tablespoon of tahini

juice of a lemon

1/4 cup olive oil or extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.  Add more olive oil if it’s too thick.   When storing in the refrigerator, put the hummus in a bowl and cover with a thin layer of olive oil.

The Rest

For the pitas, wrap them in a clean tea towel and steam them lightly.  A Chinese bamboo steamer would be great for this but I just use a rack that fits in a big pot so that the tea towel can sit above a tiny bit of simmering water.   I think it’s important to steam them a bit so they’re more pliable and I think the warmth makes everything taste better.   Dice up some cucumber, tomato, red onion and lettuce and have that all in individual bowls at the table, along with the bowl of tzatziki sauce, hummus, hot pickled peppers, black olives and some hot sauce.  Serve the chicken and pitas warm and allow your guests, even if they’re only four years old, to make their own pita.