This weekend I got all ambitious with a chicken and spatchcocked the little fucker, you know, just like you get in Nandos.
It was nowhere near as easy as the guy on YouTube made it look, so I wouldn't recommend you do it in a hurry. But I would recommend you knock up the delicious lemon, garlic and chili marinade I slathered it with and rub it into some ready butchered pieces of chicken (unless of course your not too squeamish to watch to the end of the YouTube video and have some nice sharp knives!).
Rubbing the zesty marinade under the skin prevents the garlic and chili from burning in the oven, and allows the delicious flavours to soak right into the meat. It is therefore important to make sure you buy skin-on breasts, which are cheaper anyway. Bonus!
This recipe works just as well with breasts as it does leg portions, but the timings here are for breasts, so adjust accordingly if you use a different avian part.
The chicken would be delicious served with salad, cous-cous, or even some rice, but I would heartily recommend serving it with mashed sweet potato.
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 skin-on, freedom food or free range chicken breasts.
zest and juice of 1 lemon.
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon of chili flakes
4 tablespoons of olive oil
salt/pepper
Directions
In a small bowl, mix together oil, juice and zest of lemon, chili, garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Slide a finger under the skin of each breast to make a pocket without completely detaching the skin.
Using a teaspoon, stick half of the marinade into each skin pocket. Don't worry if the marinade drips out, just rub it over the chicken for extra flavour.
Place chicken on an oiled or non-stick oven tray and bake in the oven at 200C/Gas mark 5 for 30mins.
Serve on a fluffy bed of mashed sweet potato, drizzled with leftover cooking juices.