HOW TO EAT 7+ PORTIONS OF FRUIT & VEG

As a rather big treat to myself, I bought a Vitamix for my birthday. This wasn't a rash decision by any means, I've been wanting one for over three years after been mesmerised after seeing it at a food show demonstration. If you've never heard about them before, they are an incredibly powerful blender that has a price tag to match. But it isn't just a blender! It can blend raw veg and turn it into soup in minutes. A blender that can peanuts into peanut butter, Frozen fruit into ice cream and of course whizz up fantastic smoothies in seconds! Yes seconds!! The fact in does it in such a short space of time supposedly means the vitamin and nutrient content stay high, thus the name, vita-mix...

Not a day has passed since getting this crazy blender that I haven't used it!

The 'Green Smoothie' - A smoothie of both fruit and green vegetables, is another food trend that is currently going crazy. British Vogue even did an article about it in their recent issues. However I can't say that I've jumped at trying one, they look like that concoction you'd make in the school canteen which you were the dared to drink!!! That said now I have vitamix, any excuse I can find to use it the better! Plus what with the recent change in 'healthy diet guidelines' to increase our vegetable intake, it also seems to be the sensible thing to do.

At this point I just want to mention I am NOT a nutritionist. I am merely an eager vegetable loving blogger and the information on this post is from a selection of sources that I have read and heard about but is purely my opinion. So don't take things I say as gospel! Best to do some research yourself too.

So, last month it was announced that the previous guidelines by the World Health Organisation that were backed by the Government and NHS of eating 5 portions of fruit and veg should be increased to 7. A 12 year study taken at the College of London found that 5 portions was not adequate and that people who ate several portions of fruit and vegetables had a lowered risk of premature death by 42%.

Researchers also evaluated that canned and frozen fruit actually increased the risk of mortality by 17% and drinking fruit juice had no significant benefit. I personally am quite surprised at this, considering I buy fresh bananas that I then chop up and then freeze. I can not understand how a banana can go from being good for me to buy a 'risk' by freezing it. Obviously the Frozen food manufactures were up in arms about this statement and highlighted how the report itself had stated that frozen fruit is 'held to be equivalent' to fresh fruit. As well condemning the study for putting frozen fruit into the same group as canned fruit, which tends to contain higher sugar levels. If you have any thoughts on why frozen fruit could be classed as bad, please do let me know...

Another interesting point from this study was that they also acknowledged the beneficial differences between vegetables and fruit.  Each piece or portion of fruit consumed lowered the chance of death by 4%, whilst each portion of vegetables lowered the risk of death by 16%. 

What is classed a s a portion!? The NHS created a downloadable PDF with a 'rough' list describing amounts that class as a portion. For a portion you'd be looking at a cereal bowl full of raw spinach or 7 cherry tomatoes or half an avocado. Have a look at the list for the rest.

So with a standard three meals a day you'd need to be having 2 portions at each mealtime and a snack of fruit or carrot sticks. For someone like me who craves beetroot and gets excited about sweet potatoes and butternut squash, it isn't something I'd have an issue fulfilling. 

Spinach & Kale used in my Blueberry Banana Smoothie this morning that I'll blog about soon. This smoothie contains four portions of your fruit and veg for the day!?!

However 2 portions of veg in the morning with a cuppa tea?? Hmm even I thought that could be difficult, and that is where GREEN SMOOTHIES come into their own! By whizzing up this in a morning, not only am managing to consume two portions of veg but also 1 if not 2 portions of fruit to boot! So that four portions of fruit and veg and I haven't even left the flat!!

Here is one of the many smoothies that I'm currently loving!! 

AVOCADO SPINACH BANANA SMOOTHIE 
Serves 2 - Equals 2.5 Portions of fruit and veg per serving!

1 Avocado

2 Large handfuls of spinach

1 large Banana (I chop these up and freeze the night before)

2 tbs Plain Probiotic Yoghurt

1/2 tsp ground Ginger

2 tsp Honey

1 tsp Matcha Green Tea (Have another post coming soon about this impressive powder!)

1 1/2 cups Oatly Milk, but you could also use Normal Milk, Almond Milk, Soya Milk, Coconut Water etc..

Put into your blender and whizz. Alternatively you could use a hand bender and put the ingredients into a jug and carefully whizz.

Lastly as much as jam jars work well you could always get yourself a insulated plastic cup. I got mine online from Starbucks but you can also get them in places like TK Maxx or from ebay. I'll be back with the Blueberry and banana smoothie soon.

Happy Blending!

POACHED EGGS, SMOKED SALMON WITH OAT SPINACH PANCAKES

I came across this recipe whilst reading the fabulous Gluten Free Rosie blog. I have been cooking quite a few Ottolenghi recipes recently and as soon soon as I saw Rosie's recipe had been inspired by Ottolenghi I thought I had to try it!

I met Rosie at another supperclub and have already had the pleasure to visit her at her very own supperclub once already. But it's time I went again, especially after trying out one of her recipes from her fantastic blog! It's given me the taste for more of her food. 

Now, I need to state that I am not a coeliac but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy recipes that have been created for coeliacs, especially when Rosie's recipes are just so damn good! So in my recipe I used normal porridge oats, rather than the recommended gluten-free oats. Anyway here is Rosie's recipe:

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4 people)

Pancake dry ingredients

• 150g certified gluten-free oats or normal oats if you're not a Coeliac
• 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
• 1 large handful of spinach leaves (finely chopped)
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Pancake wet ingredients

• 250ml milk
• 1 egg (whisked)
• 2 tbsp melted butter

Sumac sour cream sauce ingredients

• 50g sour cream
• 75g  Greek yogurt
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tbsp tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp sumac (a tangy, lemony spice which you can buy in all large Turkish, Arabic and Iranian supermarkets)
• 1 pinch of salt and black pepper

Piling on top ingredients

• 4 tsp smoked paprika
• 4 slices of smoked salmon
• 4 eggs
  1 tbsp White wine vinegar
• 4 tsp fresh coriander

METHOD

Pour your oats into a food processor and wizz till you have a fine flour. You'll be putting this through a sieve at a later stage to give you an idea of how fine you should get them.

(I could've made mine finer!)

Sift and whisk the flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Then mix in the finely chopped spinach leaves. Make a well in the centre of the flour mix and slowly add the wet ingredients, whisking well until you have a smooth batter. Leave the batter to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. This allows the baking powder to form bubbles in the batter, leading to light and fluffy pancakes. 

Next, make your sumac cream sauce. Place the yogurt, sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, sumac (you can get this at most supermarkets now, you'll find it in the herb & spices isle) and seasoning into a small bowl. Stir well and set aside.  

**Please note the cute little metal dishes. Aren't they fantastic! 

They make me feel like I'm Blue Peter "Here's one I prepared earlier". 

One of Ben's xmas stocking gifts off his mum ~ Joan, they're fab and getting used lots! x

Prep your coriander leaves, some wedge of lemon and have the paprika at hand. Using smoked paprika really makes a big difference, so if you find it use it. I've just run out :(

Next, heat a non-stick frying pan. Take ladle full of the batter and pour into the center of the pan, spreading it slightly. Keep the pan on a medium/low heat, no need too rush. Once bubbles start appearing on the surface, carefully turn them over and cook for another few minutes. Once ready transfer them onto a plate with tin foil on top to keep them warm.

Now Rosie does her eggs before doing the pancakes, however I find getting the perfect poached egg quite an intense process (I has gone horribly wrong in the past..) so need everything else done first!

So next make your runny yolk poached egg! I poached mine for 2-3 minutes with a tbsp of white wine vinegar.

Once the eggs are ready place your pancake on a plate followed by a 'swirl' of the sumac sour cream. Next place your egg, topped with the smoked salmon, coriander and paprika.

These were a real hit as was the garlic! Fortunately it was just the two of us but next time I think I shall make an extra sure I find a ubber small clove of garlic ;)

If you have any batter leftover, just cling it and pop it in the fridge. 

You don't half, look amazing when you produce this for brekkie, on a Monday morning before work! 

Now I'm off to try and bag me some tickets for the next GFR. Wish me luck! 

ORANGE POPPY SEED BUNDT CAKE

I made this Bundt last year and forgot to blog about it. So as I've been meaning to do a recipe post for some time I thought I'd tell you about it now.

As I've mentioned on previous posts I am part of the Borough Belles and am in charge of making sure there is something to eat at the meetings, whether it be Jamaican Patties or Oreo Brownies! I'm in charge of drumming up interest and excitement in the other Belles to bake for the odd meeting however sometimes people are unable to make it at the last minute, so it always good for me to have an emergency cake in the freezer to prevent lack of cake!

This cake is perfect for such an occasion. It keeps really well in the freezer and if you get it out the night before, it leaves plenty of time to whip up the icing just before serving.

Funny how my emergency freezer cake is also my emergency blog post too!?

ORANGE POPPY SEED BUNDT CAKE

Ingredients:

• Melted butter, to grease
• 125ml (1/2 cup) fresh orange juice
• 130g (1/2 cup) Greek-style natural yoghurt
• 60g (1/4 cup) poppy seeds
• 250g butter, at room temperature, chopped
• 270g (1 1/4 cups) caster sugar
• 2 tbs finely grated orange rind
• 4 eggs
• 340g (2 1/4 cups) plain flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 orange

For the Icing:

• 150g icing sugar
• Juice & Zest of 1 Orange

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Grease and flour your Bundt tin.

Combine the orange juice, yoghurt and poppy seeds in a small bowl.

Use an electric beater to beat the butter, caster sugar and orange rind in a large bowl until pale and creamy. 

Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until just combined.

Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture. 

Add the yoghurt mixture and use a large metal spoon to fold until just combined. 

Spoon mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. 
Bake in oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. 

Leave to cool for 5 minutes before turning out. 

To make the icing simply beat all the ingredients together until smooth. Then drizzle over the top. Using a proper zester will allow you to get those longer zest stripes that look great on top. Leave for 20minutes to set before serving.

This cake freezes very well (un-iced) and can keep for up to 3-4 days in an air tight container.

Cauliflower, Leek & White Bean Soup

So since starting my frugal regime I have also wanted to incorporate a healthy diet. Healthy diet in the way that my body is being feed all the nutrients it need. This has lead me to a few websites and cookbooks that include:

Honestly Healthy Cookbook - Alkaline diet

The recipes in this book are great and really tasty, however some of the ingridients do not fit in my current 'frugal' lifestyle. You try buying umeboshi plums and keep the cost of your soup to 40p per bowl! I don't think so... Whilst I do love these recipes I find it quite easy to tweak or even omit certain ingredients to stay in budget

The next set of recipes I've come across are by Teresa Cutter. "A qualified Chef, Nutritionalist and personal trainer, she has combined her knowledge of food, diet and exercise to specialize in developing healthy recipes for fat loss and total wellbeing. " Her website Healthy Chef is full of fabulous recipes that I have found so far are simple to make, taste delicious, plus she explains why and in which ways the recipe is good for you. 

Cauliflower, Leek & White Bean Soup


"Cauliflower contains phytonutrients that release sulphur compounds when heated. These odours become stronger with increased cooking time, so to minimise  the odour and reduce nutrient losses, it’s important to cook the cauliflower for only a short time.  Cauliflowers are low in calories, carbs and fat and contain B vitamins necessary for energy metabolism plus plenty of fibre to fill you up and to keep you regular......the beans have added quality protein to fill you up as well as aiding repair and supporting my immune system."

Healthy Chef | Teresa Cutter

Serves 4

1 leek, finely sliced - 81p

Parmesan & Parsley to garnish - 20p

1 cauliflower (800 g ) cut into flowerets - £1
1 x 400 g tin organic cannelinni beans, drained - 69p
1 litre vegetable stock - 50p (2 x Knorr veg stock pot)
£3.30 - which works out to be 80 pence per bowl

Saute leek in 1 tablespoon olive oil over a gentle heat for 5 minutes until softened.
Add the cauliflower, stock and beans.
Simmer until the cauliflower is tender and and remove from the heat.
Puree until smooth, with a hand blender or if you are lucky enough to own one, a vitaMix.
Return to the pot and season with a little white pepper.
Serve warm soup in large bowls with a little shaved or grated Parmesan, chopped parsley and drizzle of extra virgin oil.

Fat: 3.4 g
carbs: 16 g
Protein: 11g
Calories: 151 / 631 kj

This was a good soup, not one of my favourites but good none the less. I was however, surprised to find out it was more expensive to make than the celeriac and fennel soup! 80p per bowl!! Hmm think I need to find cheaper leeks!?! Have just realised Sainsbury's charged me 80 pence for a leek, one leek!? Wow......

FEELING FRUGAL

I've lived in London since 2003.

When I first moved here from university, I had no job, but some savings left over to keep me a float. I soon learnt how to make money stretch.

Since then I have had several jobs before embarking on my current role, in which I have been in for nearly nine years!? I now have a steady income and long gone are the days when I'd count the pennies in my wallet to decide whether I could upgrade from value beans to the branded version.
Recently, quite a few of my friends and family's situations have and are changing quite considerably for lots of different reasons. The linking factors between them all, will be or is, a restriction in their day to day budget.

It is at time like these when you end re-assesing your own situation and consider your own lifestyle.
I personally loath wasting food. I can't bare throwing something that I've paid for, into the bin, that said I understand that my food shopping could be a little more organised and controlled. This set me out on doing some research on frugal feeding.

As I mentioned on my previous post, it is easy in London to spend £5 on lunch when at work, which when you add it up is £25 per week totalling at an eye watering £1200 a year!!!
I've always tried to take my own food in with me or buy bits from the supermarket. But after doing these calculations I shall definitely keep my homemade lunches going, and find new ways of using up left overs.

In doing a bit of research I have come across very interesting blogs some of which I have learnt a lot from and found quite inspiring:
A Girl Called Jack
Skint Dad
Frugal Feeding

A Girl Called Jack is a blog written by Jack Monroe, whose life circumstances changed from being employed in a 27k job, to being unemployed and having a little boy to feed. She ended up being in a situation where £10 had to stretch to feed her for 10 days... that's £1 a day... £1 for 3 meals a day....
All of sudden £7 for one meal at lunchtime seems extortionate!

So in a bid to embrace and make the most out of my current circumstances I've decided to start adding to my savings account rather than subtracting. To do this I'm going budget my food shop and become more aware and pay attention to how much money os spent on food.
On top of that I intend to start making a more regular visit to our local food bank in lewisham. After reading a few blogs it really does make you aware how important food banks are!

This is my list of leftovers from the weekend which I need to use up in some sort of way:

• Stale Bread
• Peas (we had friends over on the weekend and made one too many peas...)
• Glutt of celery
• Leftover mashed potato
• Chickpeas (I'd soaked to many dried ones on the weekend and now they need eating!)
• Bendy carrots

STALE BREAD
This has to be the best idea yet!
I often find that you don't always managed to eat a loaf of bread before it starts to go stale. So you end up having lots of toast or throwing it away. The obvious ideas include Bread & Butter pudding, Deptford Pudding and Summer pudding. The problem is when it is just yourself or two of you. I mean you can't sit and eat a whole bread & butter pudding every week. Well you can but you'd turn into a house!
The Jamie Oliver programme was on TV the other night and he showed how quickly you can make croutons. These croutons are delicious and can be used as a savoury snack as well as on soups or salads. If you store them in an airtight container they can last weeks unless you eat them all on the first day!
I've made these a few times now, using a whole selections of different breads, from sliced wholemeal, to french stick to sourdough. The more rustic varieties had  a better texture in my opinion, but all were good and all got eaten!

Pre-heat the oven to 220 / 200 fan assisted

Get your stale bread and either cut into 1 inch cubes, tear into mouth sized morsels or slice into oval  disks that are great to place on soups.

Pop the chopped up bread into a big bowl and drizzle a GOOD amount of extra virgin oil over with a sprinkling of sea salt. Toss the bread so it's all evenly coated and then pour out onto a baking tray covered with some baking parchment.

Pop in the oven and check after 10mins to check they are toasting evenly. Once golden brown take out and allow to cool.

FRIDGE LEFTOVERS TURNED INTO SOUP

 Once you get idea of the basics of soup making, there is no excuse to waste any food in the fridge.

To start I make sure I have three things - oil, 1 onion and some stock. So that's the base.
Then I look in the fridge/cupboard and try and find two items that need using up that I think might go.
These have included things like:
Carrots and a pack of dried red lentils
Courgettes, spinach and some frozen peas
Celery and a potato
Beetroot and apples
.....the list is endless!!

I am no genius and do not have a brain full of endless recipes. However I do have access to the internet and google! I type in the two items I need to use up into the google search, adding the word soup at the end and then view the results via images. By viewing images rather than links, I can usually determine
if I think it's going to be a recipe I'm going to like. It usually is ;)

When I first started doing this I was quite astonished that my searches would end with a choice of  three recipes for me too choose from!

This week my leftover soup was pea, spinach and celery!

BUBBLE & SQUEAK!

Now I currently have a load of mashed potato in the fridge and chickpeas from when I soaked too many for another recipe. Tonight half of the mashed was used in a quick bubble & squeak with peas and a fried egg. A meal for King!


The mash can also be used on top of a fish pie and cottage pie etc. But whilst searching for recipes it also lead me to find this fantastic recipe for Chickpea Samsoas!


I'd have to tweak the recipe, so it works for me and the ingredients I have. It may go wrong, it might not be as good as using the exact ingredients they have in the list. But it does mean I use up food that would otherwise be thrown away!

If it goes to plan I'll pop it on the blog!

Happy Monday x

Celeriac and Fennel Soup

My winter diet begins! Soup, soup, soup and maybe a broth? I am a big fan of homemade soup, not only is it hot warming, nutritious and delicious. It can also be an incredibly economic way to feed yourself.

I work in Shoreditch, East London, where at lunchtime you can easily spend on average £5 for a sandwich or even £7 for some sushi. This all adds up over a year (240 working days) you could spend a total of £1200 compared to £240 for making you're own lunch. Now you might gorp at only spending £1 on food for your work lunch. However if you make a big batch and are aware of the ingredients your spending money on I can be done! £1000 should not be sniffed at. Some may say that life/money is there to be enjoyed and you can't eat a five pound note. Which I can see what they are saying but personally I enjoy cooking and I enjoy making dishes out of what can be found in the fridge. I think it's because it feels like an achievement rather than throwing food away, which I cannot bare. But then to also realise that by making my own lunches I am also indirectly giving myself nearly £1000 .... well I'd be lying if I said this didn't spur me on! Spending £1000 on something I'd keep forever rather than £5 on a posh sandwich that lasts a lunch would give me a lot more happiness!

Another great thing about making lots of soup is the fact you can make large batchs and freeze it in smaller portions. Meaning every night before you go to bed you can take out another soup, to defrost so you can take it into work the next day. Not only do you save money and time, you also end up having a variety of different soups. Remember to keep any soup containers you buy from the supermarket as they are perfect for portion control and storage.


Also it gives you the opportunity to use up any left over veg that's lying in the fridge. Just type in the list of ingredients & the words soup recipe into google. I am yet to not find a recipe.

This soup recipe is taken from the :Honestly Healthy Cookbook and altered slightly.

The book is full of tasty & healthy recipes, however some of the ingridients do not fit in my current 'frugal' lifestyle. You try buying umeboshi plums and keep the cost of your soup to 40p per bowl! I don't think so... Whilst I do love these recipes I find it quite easy to tweak or even omit certain ingredients to stay in budget.

RECIPE

• Serves 5 bowls
• 1 onion chopped - 9 onion in a 1kg bag - 11p (£1 a bag)
• 1 clove garlic chopped - 10cloves in a bulb, 3p (30p per bulb)
• 1tbsp vegetable Bouillon powder - 2g 2p  (£1.33 per 100g)
• 2 ¼ cups water - free
• 1 bulb fennel (quartered and roasted at 175°C for 30 minutes) 83p
• 3tbsp Sunflower Oil - 15p per 100ml -  45ml 7p
• 900g celeriac chopped into 2cm cubes - £1.26
400ml coconut milk - 50p
• Zest of 1 orange - 30p
• drizzle extra virgin oil & squeeze of lemon juice - 16p + 30p
• 
  
• total: £2.33 - 46p per bowl
• METHOD
• In a pan on a high heat add the garlic onion and oil and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add a 1⁄4 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of Bouillon, simmer for another 2 minutes on a medium heat.
• Add 1 cup of water and leave to simmer for another 2 minutes.
• Add your chopped celeriac & roasted fennel and cover with water.
• Cover pan with lid and leave to cook on a medium heat for 40 minutes.
• Add your coconut milk & 1 cup of water.
• Blend and serve with zest of orange over the top.

So at 46p per bowl you would still have a remaining 52p to spend on some bread or a piece of fruit for afterwards!

TIP: Get yourself a china-graph pencil to write the name of the soup and the date it was made on the lid. It helps when going through the freezer trying to work out what needs to be eaten next.

QUICK BERRY MINT ICE CREAM

Everyone loves a quick tasty pudding, especially if it's practically healthy! This recipe is great if you want to impress with no stress and little time to spare.

BERRY ICE-CREAM

*Jamie Oliver's recipe from FOOD REVOLUTION

• 1 x 500g pack of mixed frozen berries
• 150g (5½oz) fresh blueberries
• 3-4tbsp runny honey
• 1 x 500g tub of natural yoghurt
• A few sprigs of fresh mint
• Put 4 small glasses in the freezer for the dessert

BERRY ICE-CREAM: 

Get the glasses and the frozen berries out of the freezer. Divide the fresh blueberries between the glasses. Put the honey and yoghurt and leaves from the sprigs of mint into the food processor and whiz, then add the frozen berries and whiz again until combined. Spoon the frozen yoghurt over the fresh berries and serve. 

CHICKEN SHAWARMA SANDWICHES

This Sunday Ben took to the kitchen to create this superb lunch! We were so impressed with previous recipes by Ottolenghi that we had to try another one!

RECIPE
* "Chicken Shawarma Sandwiches" by Yotam Ottolengh

Chicken, marinade and bread:

2½ tbsp lemon juice
3 small garlic cloves, crushed
20g fresh ginger, finely grated
¼ tsp ground turmeric
¾ tsp sweet paprika
1½ tsp ground cumin
¾ tbsp sumac
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¾ tsp ras el hanout;
8 chicken thighs, boneless, skin on (800g net weight)
90ml olive oil
25g chopped coriander, stems and leaves
4 large flatbreads such as pita or naan
Salt and black pepper

Red onion and cucumber salsa

Red onion and cucumber salsa:
1 red onion, thinly sliced (100g net)
½ a large cucumber, thinly sliced (180g)
20g chopped dill, plus extra to garnish
4 tsp sumac
4 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp olive oil

Tahini sauce

Tahini sauce:
2½ tbsp lemon juice
100g tahini
15g parsley, roughly chopped, plus extra to garnish
1 small garlic clove, crushed

Zhoug

Zhoug:
35g coriander, roughly chopped
20g parsley, roughly chopped
3 green chillies, des-seeded and roughly chopped
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground cardamom
A pinch of caster sugar
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsp olive oil 

METHOD

1. First make the marinade. Combine the lemon juice, garlic and ginger in a large bowl. Dry-fry the spices on medium heat until their aroma is released and then add these to the bowl, along with 1 teaspoon of salt and ¾ teaspoon of black pepper. Pat dry the chicken pieces and place them in the marinade along with 5 tablespoons of the olive oil and the fresh coriander. Massage the mixture into the chicken well, cover the bowl and leave in the fridge to marinade for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.
2.  Place all the ingredients for the salsa in a small bowl, along with ¼ teaspoon of salt. Mix well and set aside.
3.  Put all the ingredients for the tahini sauce in a food processor adding a 90ml of water and a pinch of salt and blitz until completely smooth with the consistency of honey. Add a little more water if it is too thick to pour.
4.  Place all the ingredients for the zhoug in a small food processor bowl and add 2 tablespoons of water and a ¼ teaspoon of salt. Blitz in a few pulses to get a coarse paste; make sure not to over mix.
5.  Preheat the oven to 180C.
6.  Place a large ridged griddle pan on high heat. Once red hot, cook the chicken pieces for 3 minutes on each side until nice and brown. Transfer to an oven tray to cook the meat through in the oven; about 6 minutes. Allow to rest for a few minutes before cutting the chicken into 1 centimetre thick slices. Any remaining juices from the pan can be drizzled over the meat.
7.  Wipe off most of the residues from the griddle pan and add the remaining tablespoon olive oil. Drizzle the flatbreads with a little water, just to moisten on the outside, and place in the pan for about a minute on each side, to warm up. Lay out each pita sheet and spoon over some tahini sauce. Place some chicken pieces on top of this, followed by the salsa and 1 tablespoon per serving of the zhoug. Finish with a sprinkle of parsley and dill, roll the pita together and serve at once.