Magarına Bulli ve Kızartmış Tavuk (Cypriot Style Pasta with grated hellim, mint and Roasted Chicken).

Magarına Bulli ve Kızartmış Tavuk (Cypriot Style Pasta with grated hellim, mint and Roasted Chicken). 

Such a beautifully simple and classic Cypriot dish, that is made even better when made with love, extra touches like pouring the chicken fat over the pasta, and spooning over an extra ladleful of the chicken stock to serve make all the difference, as does using really good chicken from the butchers (trust me, it makes all the difference)

Some love to serve the dish with a squeeze of lemon juice (me), some with a dollop of thick strained yoghurt (yeah, I’ll take that too). I love it with extra lashings of hellim. Absolutely heavenly. 

Side note: my mum fries the cooked chicken pieces (rather than roasting them) and then shreds them into the pasta. If you’re feeling indulgent, feel free do the same, but be careful of the oil splattering all over the place.

 Serves 4-6 (adults) 

INGREDIENTS 

8-10 high welfare chicken thighs 

1 chicken stock cube dissolved in 200ml boiling water

3/4 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp coarse black pepper 

2 tbsp olive oil

500g pasta (traditionally bucatini or zite is used) 

200g hellim (Halloumi) finely grated 

2 tsp dried mint 

Squeeze of lemon juice 

METHOD 

Put chicken thighs into a large soup pan and cover with 3 litres cold water. Bring to boil, add the melted stock cube (optional), the salt and simmer on a low heat for 45-50 mins. 

After 20 mins preheat oven to 200C (fan). 

After 30 mins, remove 6 of the chicken thighs to an oven proof dish, add two ladles of the stock, the olive oil and black pepper, and pop in the oven for around 30 mins until golden brown and crispy, basting halfway through. 

While the chicken is cooking in the oven, and once the remaining chicken thighs have been boiling for around 50 mins, remove those chicken thighs to a plate. Bring the stock back up to the boil and add the pasta (if using traditional bucatini, snap the pasta into threes before adding to the pan). Cook for 10-12 mins, and whilst the pasta’s cooking, start to shred the chicken  that was removed to the plate (removing fat / skin / bones). 

Take the baked crispy chicken out of the oven and leave to one side. 

When the pasta is ready, don’t sieve or drain through a colander but use a large slotted spoon and serve straight onto a platter or individual plates so the moisture is retained then add the shredded chicken to the pasta and pour over all of the delicious chicken-flavoured oils from the baking dish that was in the oven. Give it a gentle stir. 

Sprinkle the pasta liberally with the grated hellim, dried mint and a little extra black pepper. You can pour a couple more spoonfuls of the stock over the pasta just before serving too. Fresh mint optional.