Pitta patter: Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes for homemade pitta with chicken skewers or herb fritters - MW

What you choose to tuck into your pitta is entirely your own, but I would like you to consider having the correct elements to handle: something bulky, something delicious, something delicious. That crisp, something tart and a lot of flavor!

A perfectly balanced pitta sandwich close to the greatness you'll get from a range of unattractive ingredients. So today I give you the last pitta, with just the right kind of fillings to stuff it.

The last pitta

These dogs are very light and airy, so they will absorb the sauce and juice like sponges. Fill them up with seven kinds of fried chicken or tabbouleh, or whenever you've got a great need for the need of a spacious house. Go ahead by making dough the night before and leave it to prove in the refrigerator overnight; Bring it up to room temperature before you work with it again.

Prepare 5 minutes
Prove 1-2 hours
Cook for 40 minutes
Make 6 big pittas

Warm water 240ml
2 tsp quick dry enamel
2 teaspoons of sugar
300g common wheat flour, plus dust
50g whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt

1 tbsp olive oil, plus oil

Put water in a small bowl, sprinkle with yeast and sugar, leave for five to six minutes, until it reacts and turns into froth.

Put both flour and salt in a vertical mixer with a dough hook attached and mix at low speed to combine. Add the yeast and oil mixture, turn the speed to medium high and knead for seven minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic and a little sticky. Transfer to a bowl of oil, cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place to increase for one to two hours, until doubled in size. (Or prove overnight in the fridge.)

Divide the dough into six pieces weighing about 100g each. Lightly dough a clean work surface with dough and squeeze each piece into a ball. Cover with a tea towel and let stand for another 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to the highest level and place on a large tray to heat. Cut out several parchment paper roughly the size of the tray and sprinkle with flour. Work twice at a time, using a light rolling pin to roll the balls into balls about 12cm in diameter on the paper. Transfer the round paper and bread into the baking tray and bake for four to five minutes, until golden and slightly inflated. Switch to a clean plate or bowl and cover with a tea towel to keep warm while you repeat with the rest of the dough.

Seven spices chicken with tahini (pictured above)
Seven Lebanese spices are a freely used mixture in the Middle East, especially in meat meats. Serve this chicken with the store-bought or homemade pitta (see recipe first), a simple crispy salad, tahini sauce and some pickles to make the final pitta sandwich.

Prep 10 min
Marinate 30 min+
Cook 50 min
Serves 4-6

For the chicken
700g boneless and skinless chicken thighs, each cut into 3-4 pieces
1 tbsp Lebanese seven-spice
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp olive oil
70g Greek-style yoghurt
1 lemon – half juiced, to get 1 tbsp, the other half reserved to finish
Salt and black pepper

For the sauce
80g good-quality tahini
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1½ tbsp lemon juice

Put all of the chicken ingredients (except for a half of a reserved lemon) into a large bowl with a teaspoon of salt and lots of pepper, and mix to combine. Cover with a plate and marinate for at least half an hour (or refrigerate overnight, if you want to go ahead).

Make the sauce by beating all the ingredients with a quarter teaspoon of salt and 70ml of water, until you have a smooth, tolerable sauce. It will thicken as it sits.

Preheat the oven to 220C (fan 200C) / 425F / gas 7 and place a good grease grease griddle over high heat. Skewer chicken marinated on four metal skewers about 23cm long (or wooden skewers soaked). When the grill is very hot, grill the chicken skewers at the same time (or at most comfortably fit) for a total of 8 to 10 minutes, rotating steadily, until evenly baked.

Transfer the skewer to the greaseproof paper tray and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Squeeze through half of the reserved lemon and serve warm with pittas, salads, pickles and sauces.

Fry Tabbouleh with a quick chilli sauce

These fries can be served just like with a squeeze of lemon, or with a quick chili sauce. A third and more option would be to stuff them in fresh pitta, drizzle with tahini sauce from the previous recipe and a spoonful of chili sauce, and finish with a few slices of tomato or cucumber. The sauce stays in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to a week, so double the amount, if you prefer.

Prepare 25 minutes
Cook for 45 minutes
Do 8, to serve 4

70g bulgur wheat
Salt and black pepper
Spinach 200g
50g parsley, chopped
20g mint leaves, picked
Red onion, peeled and diced (net weight 60g)
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon ground
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tbsp lemon zest
75ml of olive oil
3 large eggs

Add chili sauce quickly
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Onions, peeled and chopped (75g)
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 bright red chilies, chopped, seeds and all (20g)
2 grapes tomatoes, chopped, seeds and all (200g)
1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar


Put the bulgur into a small pot where you have a tight lid, and add 75ml of water and a quarter teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, cover, turn off the heat and let stand and gently steam for 10 minutes. Steam on the bulgur with a fork, then set aside to cool a little.

Meanwhile, make sauce. Put the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat and, once hot, add garlic and onions. Fry, stirring occasionally, for five minutes, until soft and lightly colored. Add tomato paste, cook, stirring frequently, for a longer time, then add chili, turn off the heat and let cool for five minutes. Tips for mixing the mixture into a food processor, beating until finely chopped, then adding tomatoes, vinegar and half a teaspoon of salt, and smooth blitz.

Blanch spinach in boiling water for 20 seconds, or until wilted, then drain. Refresh in cold water, then rinse and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. You will end up with about 90g.

Add cold bulgur, spinach, herbs, onions, garlic, spices, lemon zest, a spoon of oil, three quarters of a teaspoon of salt and a fine ground pepper to the food processor, and break several times, until small Thai. Add egg and pulse a few more times, until combined. Transfer the dough into a bowl or jar (it should be able to withstand it).

Place the remaining four tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and, once hot, drop (or pour) three to four tablespoons of flour into the pan and gently shape them into small pieces of about 8cm in diameter. 2cm thick. Fry for two to three minutes on each side, until crispy and cook through, then transfer to a tray lined with blotting paper while you cook the rest of the dough.

Serve warm fried with chili sauce and fast pitta.

MW