Mexican chicken wraps with grilled veg salsa

I just recently attended the wedding of a very good friend who is an holistic nutritionist and also vegetarian. As you can imagine the food was healthy and clean. It has inspired me to really re think what I put into myself. Many years of low carb dieting have leftover an unhealthy disregard for the amount of butter, oil, cream and cheese I eat, although I have to say that in lieu of the pasta, rice, noodles or potatoes, I used to eat far more vegetables, (as well as being more imaginative with them). Things have to change, those veg need to come back. I'm going to stick with my choice to eat (organic) meat for now, although I will reduce the amount of beef and lamb and increase fish. A plate of colour is what nutritionists generally recommend with veg and this meal was beautiful. Tomatillos, peppers, red onion and chilies were barbecued along with the chicken, slathered in a spicy and earthy marinade consisting of anchiote paste, cumin, lemon juice and garlic.

Recipe : Mexican chicken

1 chicken, spatchcocked

1/2 block of prepared anchiote paste mixed with about 6 tbsp water until smooth

juice of half a lemon

3/4 cup sour orange juice or orange juice mixed with juice of half a lime

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried Mexican oregano

1 tsp salt

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

To spatchcock the chicken, lay it on it's back, cut down through the back bone and flatten out like a book, (you can cut the backbone out as well if you like). Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a shallow baking dish, add the chicken, turn to coat and leave to marinade, covered, for a minimum of 2 hours up to 24.

Other ingredients:

2 large mild chili peppers, cut into chunks and de seeded

1/2 red onion, cut in half

8 tomatillos, cut in half

Barbecue the chicken over indirect medium heat for about 45 minutes until cooked through and crispy on the outside.

Place the vegetables on a perforated or flat barbecue cooking grill and grill over medium to high heat.....

.... for about 15 minutes until softened and slightly charred in places. Remove from the grill.

Let the veg cool slightly then chop into equal small dice for your salsa, perhaps adding a little touch of salt and lime juice.

To serve, place a little piece of chicken on a warmed tortilla with a spoonful of salsa, a little sour cream and a dash of hot sauce. Roll up and nosh.

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