Portuguese-style chicken

Step 1

Place 1 chicken, breast-side down, on a clean work surface. Use kitchen scissors or poultry shears to cut down both sides of backbone and discard. Turn chicken, breast-side up, and push down to flatten. Tuck wings under. Pat dry with paper towel. Repeat with remaining chicken. Use a knife to make several 5mm deep and 4cm long cuts into chicken meat. Place in a glass or ceramic baking dish.

Step 2

Combine the lemon juice, oil, paprika, oregano, sugar, garlic, chilli and salt in a bowl. Season with pepper. Pour over the chicken and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 6 hours to develop the flavours.

Step 3

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place chicken and marinade in a roasting pan. Roast in oven, basting occasionally with pan juices, for 40 minutes or until brown and juices run clean when chicken is pierced with a skewer. Remove from oven and cover with foil. Set aside for 5 minutes to rest.

Step 4

Meanwhile, to make the salad, place the tomato, rocket, cucumber, onion and olives in a bowl. Place oil, lemon juice and oregano in a screw-top jar and shake to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over salad and toss to combine.

Step 5

Cut each chicken in half and serve with lemon wedges and salad.