The most delicious recipe for when friends drop by for lunch, try this comforting chicken, ricotta and spinach pide over the weekend.

Recipe & Styling Natalie Homan | Photographs Brendan Homan

Chicken, ricotta and spinach pide
makes 4

4 skinless chicken thigh fillets
4 tbsp olive oil
200g firm ricotta
2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
60g butter, melted
1 cup mint leaves to garnish
salt and cracked black pepper

for brine
2L water
½ cup salt
¼ cup sugar
1 bay leaf
2 garlic cloves, bruised
1 tbsp black peppercorn
1 lemon, halved

for dough
300g bread flour
1 tsp instant yeast
½ tsp caster sugar
150g warm water
¾ tsp fine sea salt

Place 500ml water and remaining brine ingredients into a small saucepan, bring to the boil, then simmer to dissolve salt and sugar. Pour into a container and add remaining
1½ litres of water and place into refrigerator to chill. Once chilled, place chicken into brine and return to the refrigerator for 2 hours.

To make the dough, place water into the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle over yeast and sugar, stir to combine and allow 5 minutes to bloom. Add flour and salt and mix with the paddle attachment to form a rough dough.  Switch to the dough attachment and knead on low for 10 minutes. Spray the bowl and dough with olive oil spray, cover with clingfilm and set aside to prove for 1 hour.  Then, divide dough into four equal portions, roll into balls and set aside on a floured bench, covered with clingfilm, for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove chicken from brine after the allocated time, dry with paper towel and dice into 2cm pieces. Heat a large frypan over high heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil and panfry the chicken until golden and cooked through.  Place chicken into a bowl with spinach and crumbled ricotta.  Season with salt and pepper (taking care as the chicken is already well seasoned) and mix through with the remaining olive oil.

Preheat oven to 250C – or a pizza oven to 400C.  Roll out a dough ball on floured surface to form a 10cm x 20cm oval. Pile a quarter of the chicken mix in a line along centre and fold over dough edges to partially enclose filling, twisting opposing ends to form a boat shape. Transfer to oven and cook until golden (12 minutes for a standard oven, 5 minutes for a pizza oven). Brush dough with melted butter.

Serve, garnished with mint leaves.