Omar’s Chicken

Freddie has told me often of his amazing archaeological tour to Syria, and a stunning grilled chicken dish he had, prepared by Omar the bus driver.

I challenged Freddie to use the Palate of his Imagination™ and recreate it. So this isn’t Omar’s recipe per se, but a recollection of the amazing grilled chicken he’d find for these picnics, along with flat breads, baby fresh cucumbers and amazing apricot jam.

You can use a whole chicken, jointed. Here I’m using two spatch-cocked poussins.

 

Serves 2 greedies

 

2 poussins, spatch-cocked

1 lemon, juiced

1–2 tablespoons olive oil

salt

black pepper

dried thyme or oregano, or both (I used a fantastic wild hybrid of the two from Crete. It’s called Throubi, and you can get it from The Spice Shop, details in my Little Black Book)

Aleppo pepper (also available from The Spice Shop, details in my Little Black Book)

 

1. Clean your poussins (or chicken pieces) and dry them thoroughly. Then slash them with a knife to speed up the cooking process.

2. Pour the olive oil into your hands, and rub it into each bird, massaging all over.

3. For each bird (or piece of chicken), season generously with the following: a good pinch of salt; a good pinch of Aleppo pepper; a few twists of fresh black pepper; a good pinch of the dried herbs.

4. Now grill gently the birds over a medium heat, turning occasionally and basting with a little oil each time, until they’re done (the juices run clear when you stab them with your knife).

5. Remove them from the heat, and dress them evenly with the lemon juice.

6. Serve with salad or greens, as you prefer, some yummy flatbreads, and a good dollop of harissa on the side.