Do you want to cook the legendary “blue bird” very tasty and very unusual? No, you can, of course, stuff it with oranges or even pineapples. Or you can try chicken in pita bread, baked in the oven. They say that this dish belongs to the Armenian cuisine (probably due to the bread product used in the recipe). Is it so? Let culinary historians judge it, but it has a bright, expressive taste, aromatic "feast of spirit", subtle pungency that gives completeness to the meal, a combination of vegetables with meat and herbs. Baked chicken in the oven, skillfully combines paprika and poultry meat - and the result: a fragrant, hot dish, which also has a national flavor. Well, try to cook?
Nature of the dish
The main feature: the chicken will be cooked on thin (Armenian) pita bread, folded several times, and then it will be covered by it. Thus, thin pieces of dough are soaked in meat juices, and on the side they get a golden crust and crunch - just an overeating! A great way to diversify the everyday menu. And on any holiday table, chicken in pita bread, baked in the oven, will look great!
Ingredients
For cooking, take: one small chicken (one and a half kilograms, but it can be successfully replaced with chicken thighs, it can even taste better), a half glass of low-fat sour cream, a couple of large paprika peppers, a few cloves of garlic, a mixture of dry ground peppers, cilantro, a little butter creamy, salt. Well, lavash is thin, of course.
Oven baked chicken in pita bread. Step by step recipe
- To get started, let's take a look at the marinade for the bird - its basis: sour cream and paprika. We clear the pepper from seeds and stalks, cut into large pieces and place in a blender for chopping. Add the peeled garlic cloves there, grind everything until smooth.
- In the resulting mass we add now a mixture of peppers (or black plus chili - for poignancy). Add softened butter with sour cream, mix until smooth. It turns out a spicy chicken dressing with a pronounced aroma.
- Now prepare the meat. We wash the chicken and remove the offal (you can take individual chicken thighs, but not the breast - it turns out to be rather dry). Dry with a paper towel. A chicken prepared in this way is plentifully coated on different sides with a pre-prepared marinade. Tighten the container with cling film, leaving to marinate for at least a couple of hours.
- Preheat the oven to 180 °. Lubricate the baking dish with a piece of oil. Lavash leaves are divided into equal parts (corresponding to the size of the form). We spread pita bread in a container, we coat each sheet with the remaining oil, it will glue them. In total, four layers should be obtained.
- We spread the bird on pita bread, pouring it with the remaining dressing. The edges of the national bread product should be slightly bent up (so that the juices do not flow out), but not higher than two centimeters. If the edges protrude, be sure to cut them (it is more convenient to do this with a round pizza knife or kitchen scissors). Moisten pita bread with water so that it does not dry out and does not burn. On top of the meat, you can put sweet bell pepper, cut into strips - for beauty and additional flavor.
- We send the entire structure to a heated oven. Bake for an hour at 180 degrees. We will orientate ourselves on the crust, piercing with a fork for testing: the meat should not give red juice when pierced, then it is completely “ripe”. In the last minutes you can turn on the grill, if there is such a function on your stove.
How to serve
Chicken in pita bread, baked in the oven, is ready! It turned out juicy, tender, has the aroma of paprika. The edges of the “basket” of pita bread are ruddy and crunchy. Turn off the oven and remove the form. Tip: you can decorate the chicken in the pita, baked in the oven, with fresh cilantro, and additionally cover it densely with sheet pita. Let it stand a little longer, soak and let it be served to the table, slicing in portions (with or without garnish - you decide). Bon appetit to all!