This tasty family meal is quick to prepare and then simply cooked on the barbecue, and served with a creamy salad.

Recipe Adelaide Central Market

Serves 4 – 6 | Cook time 55 minutes | Prep time 20 minutes 

1 whole butterflied chicken
3 cloves garlic crushed
lemon zest
2 lemons juiced
1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves finely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper 

Tomato and cucumber salad with creamy feta dressing 

1/2 small red onion halved and thinly sliced
1 lemon juiced
75 g smooth feta
6 large tomatoes cut into wedges
2 Lebanese cucumber diced
1 avocado, deseeded and diced
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives roughly chopped
2 tsp fresh oregano chopped 

Place chicken in a large non-metallic bowl. Blitz garlic, zest, juice, oregano, oil, salt and pepper in a small food processor and blend until well combined. Set aside 1/3 cup of the mixture to use for the salad dressing. Pour remaining as a marinade over the chicken, rubbing it gently under the skin and cover. Marinate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Heat a barbecue chargrill to high and cook butterflied chicken (reserving marinade), breast side down for 5 minutes before turning over and cooking for a further 5 minutes. Place in a roasting pan and pour over reserved marinade. Place pan on the barbecue plate beside chargrill, which is turned off (indirect heat) or in a preheated oven at 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Cook for 45 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. 

For the salad, place onion in a small bowl and cover with lemon juice. Leave to stand for at least 10 minutes before draining and discarding juice. This process lightly pickles the onion and helps neutralise the onion, making it milder to eat. Place reserved dressing in a small blender with feta and blend until smooth. To serve, place chicken on a board with tomato, cucumber, avocado, olives and prepared onion and drizzle dressing over the salad. Scatter oregano over the top.