Turkish-spiced chicken with hot green relish
This dish seems simple, but I can’t tell you how much I love it. I’d heard about a Turkish relish-cum-salsa made with crushed green olives and chillies and the desire to try it became overwhelming one night. I have no idea whether this is anything like the Turkish relish I was told about and I don’t care; I just bashed everything together, adding and adjusting. When I’d finished I knew I would make this for the rest of my life. It packs a punch, it includes my beloved coriander and is so hot it makes you reach for a beer. I make it a lot to go with lamb as well as chicken.
The chicken and relish are good with rice, of course, but if you’re in the mood for a wrap, well, there’s nothing better. Make sure you get plenty of cucumber and lettuce in the wrap too, though, as that relish needs taming.
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 garlic cloves grated
- salt and pepper
- 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs
FOR THE RELISH
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- sea salt flakes
- 1 green chilli
- 1 red chilli
- 15 g ½oz coriander, roughly chopped
- leaves from 8 sprigs of mint torn
- 70 g 2½oz pitted green olives, roughly chopped
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
- good squeeze of lemon juice plus lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
- To marinate the chicken, mix the regular oil, cinnamon, cayenne, cumin, garlic and salt and pepper together to make a marinade.
- Make little slits all over the underside of the pieces of chicken with the point of a knife.
- Put the chicken into a dish and pour the marinade over, turning to coat.
- Cover with cling film and put in the fridge.
- Leave it there for a couple of hours, or overnight.
- Bring it to room temperature before cooking.
- Make the relish just before you cook the chicken.
- Put the garlic and salt into a mortar and bash it with a pestle until it is crushed.
- Halve and deseed both chillies and chop them roughly.
- Add them to the mortar with the coriander, mint and olives and bash everything together, gradually adding the virgin oil and balsamic until you have a rough paste (it should be chunky, not puréed).
- Add lemon juice to taste and set aside.
- Heat a griddle.
- Lift the chicken out of the marinade, shaking off the excess, and cook it.
- Start off on a medium heat, cooking the chicken for about two minutes on each side, then reduce the heat to low and cook for another four minutes.
- The chicken should be cooked right through and singed, but not burnt.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
Serve the chicken with lemon wedges, rice or flatbread, a bowl of Greek yogurt and the relish. Cucumber and green salad are good, too.