Recipe corner: Nando’s chicken pitta

I used to really like a cheeky Nando’s, even though admitting it may lead to the rescinding of my foodie credentials. And when I discovered what good points value it was under the new WW Flex system, I started jonesing for a chicken pitta. Unfortunately, said chicken pitta was 8 Smart Points worth of disappointment. So, I determined to make my own.

Now, Nando’s do sell a supermarket range of marinades and rubs so I could have just gone down that route which would have been an awful lot less faffing around. But I had an idea for a marinade in my head and really wanted to try it out. The results were extremely pleasing and, I think, worth a bit of effort.

I served the chicken pitta with spicy rice from this this recipe which was absolutely gorgeous and worked out at 5 Smart Points per serving (basically you only need to count the rice). I also made Macho Peas from this recipe which were also fabulous and 2 Smart Points per portion based on 10g of butter between two. You could reduce this if you so wished. It was one of the nicest meals that I’ve cooked for ages and I’ve been on form recently, so that is really saying something.

It’s a loooong list of ingredients, but most of this is standard store cupboard stuff.

Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts, cut into chunks

Red pepper, deseeded and cut into quarters
2 red chillies, deseeded and cut in half lengthwise

Tsp of rapeseed oil
Shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Tsp smoked paprika
Tsp dried oregano
Tsp ground coriander
Tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Tbsp tomato purée
2 tsp rapeseed oil
Tsp red wine vinegar

To serve:
2 medium pitta breads
10g mayonnaise
20g fat free natural yoghurt
50g half fat cheddar cheese, grated
Handful of lettuce leaves, shredded

Serves 2, 10 Smart Points per portion (WW Flex)

I would suggest putting the chicken on to marinade the night before.

To make the marinade, first, you need to set your grill to it’s highest heat and pop the pepper and chilli slices under there to blacken. When they’re good and singed, transfer to a bowl and cover with clingfilm. This will make it easy to slip the skins off a little later on.

Heat a teaspoon of oil over a low heat and sweat off the shallot for around 5 mins, until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and dried spices and cook off for a further couple of minutes until everything has lost its raw smell.

Remove the skin from the peppers and chillies and put the flesh into a small blender, along with the spiced shallots. Whizz to a coarse mix then add the additional oil, the vinegar and the purée and a good splash of water to help it all come together into a loose paste.

Take two tablespoons of the mix and combine it with the mayonnaise and yoghurt - set aside. Then add the chicken pieces to the remaining marinade, cover and leave for a few hours or overnight if possible.

When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 180. In a dry pan (the oil in the marinade should prevent any sticking) fry the chicken off for 2 minutes on each side. Then sprinkle over the cheese and transfer, covered, to the oven for a further 8-10 minutes to cook through.

Lightly toast and split the pitta then fill with the lettuce, the spiced mayonnaise and the cooked, cheesy chicken.

YUM.