Cumin is one of my favourite spices, adding a lovely earthy warmth to many dishes. Here I've combined it with lemon, garlic and olive oil to marinade chicken breast pieces, that can either be pan-fried, griddled or barbecued.
I love to serve the chicken with homemade tzatziki, which is a far fry from the stuff you find on the supermarket shelves - although it's a good alternative if you are short of time.
For the tzatziki
½ large cucumber
2 -4 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
500g strained Greek yogurt
Handful of fresh mint
1 tablespoon of lemon
Salt
For the chicken
3 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of cumin
½ lemon
400 - 600g raw chicken breast
Seasoning
To make the tzatziki
- Grate the cucumber and stir in ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Place in a sieve over a bowl.
- Crush the garlic and place in a bowl with the olive oil. Stir to combine.
- Leave both for 2-3 hours.
- When you return to the cucumber, use a spoon to push out any excess liquid or squeeze with your hands.
- Add to the yogurt along with the garlic and oil, and stir to combine.
- Finely chopped the mint and add to the yogurt, along with the lemon juice.
- Season to taste.
To make pan fried chicken
- Slice the chicken, width-ways across the breast, into 1 cm slices and place in a large bowl.
- Crush the garlic and add to the chicken with the cumin and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Squeeze the lemon and add the juice to the bowl, along with some seasoning.
- Stir well to combine and then leave for at minimum of 15 minutes to marinade.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy based frying pan.
- Once the oil is up to temperature, add the chicken and marinade to the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes over a medium heat.
To make griddled chicken
- If making kebabs then snap wooden skewers to the desired length (so they fit on the griddle and the meat can touch the surface), before soaking in water for an hour.
- Cut the chicken into chunks.
- Crush the garlic and add to the chicken with the cumin and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Squeeze the lemon and add the juice to the bowl, along with some seasoning.
- Stir well to combine and then leave for a minimum of 15 minutes to marinade.
- Thread the chicken onto the skewers is using.
- Lightly oil a griddle pan.
- Heat the pan over a medium heat and once the griddle is very hot, add the chicken.
- Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes until the chicken has lovely griddle stripes and is cooked through.
To test if the chicken is cooked, remove a piece from the pan or griddle and cut in half. If it's still pink in the middle, then cook for a couple of minutes longer.
