Saturday, February 18, 2012

Chermoula Roasted Chicken, Tomato, Avocado And Cucumber Salsa Wraps





I have wanted to try my hands on cooking Mexican or even Tex-Mex food at home for a while now. When I finally got my acts together to do my research and found a recipe suitable for a first timer like me, the specialty shop was closed when I arrived with my list of ingredients. 

Thankfully the supermarket is a stone's throw away from the specialty shop and I managed to come out with a Mediterranean version of my planned tacos meal. 

This completely revised meal is now a tummies' favourite whenever we want to get away from rice and pasta. Mexican food is still on the pipeline and if you know of any good Mexican cookbook do let me know, thank you.



recipe from the tummies' kitchen
serves 4 as a one dish meal
you'll need;
1 free range chicken, butterflied
5 tbs of chermoula for marinade
8 to 10 shop bought tortillas or other flat breads
200 g of baby cos lettuce leaves
2 tbs of extra chermoula

for the salsa;
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 continental/telegraph cucumber, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 spanish onion, finely diced
2 tbs of chopped coriander leaves
2 tbs of chopped mint leaves
4 tbs of olive oil
juice from half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste



To butterfly or spatchcock the chicken - remove the backbones of the chicken using a pair of kitchen scissor then flatten it slightly with both the palms of your hands. Use 5 tbs of the chermoula to marinate the chicken for at least an hour in the fridge.



Heat up an oven tray and lightly brown the chicken on both sides (2 -3 minutes/side) then roast it in the preheated oven for ~45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool down.



While waiting for the chicken to cool down, prepare the salsa by combining all the ingredients in a large bowl, check for seasonings and set aside.



When the chicken is cool enough to handle drain off most of the accumulating oil in the oven tray and shred the meat from the carcass, reserving the bones for your stock pot. Return the shredded chicken to the tray and mix it with the remaining delicious sticky bits and cooking juices and the extra 2 tbs of chermoula.



Place a tortilla or flat bread on the workbench, place some lettuce over then top with some of the shredded chicken and salsa.



They can be rolled up and eaten as they are or lightly grill on a hot plate which is how we like it.



Halve wraps at an angle and serve it with a little more salsa on the side.

20 comments:

  1. Hi tummy!!! happy weekend to u!!! ur roast chicken drooling lor! i suke salsa, tak pernah lah buat menu macam ni lagi, nanti nak cuba ;-) thanks for sharing!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Any thing wrap with roast meat and salsa , sure yummy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is hard to get ingredients for Mexican food in Melbourne. Well done with your improvised wraps though. Btw the is a tacos meal by Neil Perry in the Saturday Age, wondering if you are aware of that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tommi Myers' book Mexican Food Made Simple is excellent and perfect for beginners. If you get more into it, Diana Kennedy's The Essential Cuisines of Mexico is the next step.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is on tonight's menu and I hope it is going to turn up as well as yours :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thomasina Miers - Mexican Food Made Simple. Have cooked loads from it and awesome authentic flavours.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is so interesting to see how first timers make Mexican food! It reminds looks like a quesedilla but rolled up. :) Nice job!

    We can get so many of the ingredients in our regular supermarket here in Florida. I know it is probably different in other parts of the country. I will have to send you some ingredients - spices, and such. We just discovered an authentic Mexican restaurant on Sunday, the food was so good and so much we each had two meals out of it. They also served handmade corn and flour tortillas, and tortilla chips. Plus they had a Mexican store and bakery right there in the restaurant. We brought home some guava cheese empanadas and baked goods....okay back to your wonderful meal. I do like the fresh ingredients and would eat this any day!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I bought the tortilla! Am going to try this out. Haha... So excited. You are always the BEST!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh ya, Do u know where to buy banana leaf in melbourne? My friend who stay in Melbourne can't get banana leaf in the local market city and grocery shop. Do u know any place can get this?

    ReplyDelete
  10. This definitely make me drool. Have a great weekend.
    Regards, Kristy

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh that looks good! I like the chicken part best:D Drool!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm drooling here. That looks fabulous!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is absolutely delicious, you guys continue to amaze me. Now I want a hot plate to use too lol

    ReplyDelete
  14. Full on salivating on my keyboard. Looks amazing, can't wait to try it!

    http://teenytastytriumphs.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
  15. Long time no post. Hope all is well.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Tummy dear,how are you son?mana menghilang ni.Semoga Tummy sihat walafiat selalu.Jangan cuti panjang sangat ya..tiap kali makcik singgah dapur Tummy tak berasap.Sedih:)..Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  17. i havent seen any updates from you for a while now. hope everything is ok.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Halloo!!!

    I am a huge fan of your blog and miss your updates! Hope you are ok!!!!! Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hello Chef Tummy,

    I'm a silent fan of your blog. Hope you'll be able to continue to blogging soon. God Bless. Regards, Simone.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wrap looks good. On Mexican cookbook front I personally like Rick Bayless books.
    Suganya

    ReplyDelete

Please leave a note. I love to know what you think!

press me

3 hungry tummies

My photo
melbourne, victoria, Australia

linkwithin