Bayswood Recipe of the Month #1 – February 2023

Eleni’s Special Butterfly Chicken

Welcome to the first of our Bayswood Care Recipes of the Month. For February 2023, I talk to Eleni.

Eleni is Dane View’s lead cook. Despite being born in Albania, Eleni considers herself as Greek and most of her 26 years cheffing has been in Greek restaurants. As a highly experienced chef, Eleni knows countless recipes, but says she particularly likes a lot of what might be considered as ‘the Greek classics’ – moussaka, chicken souvlaki, lamb kleftiko, etc.

As well as main courses, Eleni is known for her irresistible desserts, including Greek kataifi, halvas, revani and, what one colleague describes as, ‘Baklavas you’d kill for’.

Eleni has been at Dane View for nearly two years now. She says, ‘Mass catering is different from restaurants, but I still make sure I flavour the food just like I would at home. Cooking for lots of people doesn’t mean the food is boring. I make sure I get great tastes into the cooking. Getting the timings right is the main thing, because I don’t like to over-cook food.’

I asked Eleni for her recipe, and she said, ‘I’ll start you with a really popular dish – but a fairly simple one to cook. Eleni put forward an adaptation of an Indian dish. Just follow this recipe:

‘Eleni’s Special Butterfly Chicken’ – The Recipe & Cooking Instructions

Ingredients (for two people):

·       2 x Chicken breasts

·       The marinade: tsp cumin, tsp garam masala, tsp paprika, clove or two of garlic (crushed), 2 x tbsp tomato paste, good glug of quality extra virgin olive oil, seasoning to taste

·       Juice from half a lemon (cut other half into two quarters to dress the plates)

Cooking:

Butterfly the two breasts and place in bowl. Mix the marinade ingredients into a paste and smother the chicken. Place bowl in fridge for at least two hours or overnight to marinate. Take marinated chicken out for an hour before cooking. Turn a griddle style pan (with a dash more olive oil to prevent chicken sticking to pan) onto a medium heat and place chicken carefully onto griddle, turning once midway through. Do not keep moving/turning the chicken, because you want nice char-grilled stripes down the chicken.

Serve on a bed of fluffy rice and with your favourite vegetables on the side, such as green beans or asparagus. If you have more time, serve with roasted vegetables, such as courgettes, onions and red peppers for colour. Start the roasting off well in advance of cooking the chicken.

The beauty of the dish is that it is as tasty as it is simple to cook. And it’s healthy too! Why not try it at home yourselves and share with friends.