I Forgot This Dish’s Name So I Recreated It From Memory | Making Restaurant Dishes At Home

I genuinely cannot remember the name of this dish. What I do remember is a smoky chicken, caramelised pumpkin, pickled onions, feta, paprika oil and cold yoghurt underneath everything, which I was not expecting at all which was a surprising contrast. In this episode of recr[eat]e, I'm recreating a dish from Proud Mary Restaurant 🇿🇦 breaking it down element by element, working out what each component was doing on the plate, and interpreting in my own way. I focus on four techniques in this episode: brining, marinating, roasting, and pickling. And a conversation about why cold yoghurt might be the most interesting thing on this plate. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:12 Breakdown of the dish and flavours 02:45 Brining 04:00 Pickling 05:24 Chicken Marinade + Roasting 06:04 Roasting Pumpkin Wedges 06:43 Plating + tasting 07:23 Review and Thoughts What you’ll need (Ingredients) Chicken - Brine + Marinade Whole chicken (spatchcocked or deboned) - 1 Water 1 litre Salt (for brine) - 30g Sugar (for brine) - 15g Aromatics - Garlic, Fresh Thyme/Rosemary, Black Peppercorns Olive oil - 2 tbsp Five Spice Powder - 1 tbsp Lemon juice - 1 lemon Smoked paprika - 1 tsp Cumin - ½ tsp Pickled Onions Red onion, thinly sliced - 1 medium Red/White wine vinegar - 100ml Water - 50ml Sugar - 1 tsp Salt - ½ tsp Caramelised Pumpkin Pumpkin (butternut or kabocha) - ½ medium, cut in wedges Olive oil - 2 tbsp Salt + pepper - to taste Honey or brown sugar (optional) - 1 tsp To Plate Natural/Greek yoghurt (cold) - 4–5 tbsp per plate Feta cheese, crumbled - 60g Toasted pumpkin seeds (optional) - tbsp Smoked paprika - 1 tsp Olive oil (for paprika oil) - 3 tbsp Fresh coriander/Flat leaf parsley - small handful Method 1. [Pickling] Combine vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Pour over sliced onions and leave at room temperature for at least 1 hour. They're ready when they've turned pink and softened slightly. 2. [Brining] Dissolve salt and sugar in warm water. Add aromatics such as garlic, fresh herbs and garlic. Cool completely by adding ice water, then submerge chicken. Brine for 4–8 hours in the fridge. Remove, pat very dry before marinating. 3. [Marinade] Mix five spice powder, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, paprika and cumin. Coat the brined, dried chicken thoroughly and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes (or overnight). 4. [Roasting Pumpkin] Preheat the oven to 220°C. Toss pumpkin wedges in olive oil and salt. Place cut-side down in a roasting tray, give them space. Roast 30–40 minutes until the underside is deeply caramelised. 5. [Roasting Chicken] Roast at 200°C for 18–22 minutes until cooked through. 6. Make the paprika oil: gently warm olive oil over low heat, add smoked paprika, stir for 30 seconds and remove from heat. Do not fry, just bloom the spice. 7. To plate: spread cold yoghurt generously on the plate. Place pumpkin wedge. Add chicken. Scatter feta, pumpkin seeds and pickled onions. Drizzle paprika oil. Finish with coriander. ____________________________________________________ Instagram & TikTok: @buntumalunga @fourzero8_ #recreate #cookingseries #restaurantreview #caramelisedpumpkin #foodscience #roasting #brining #chef #harare #zimbabwe ____________________________________________________ recr[eat]e is a series where I return to the dishes that stayed with me and ask: what made this work? What did I actually love about it? And how would I cook it now? ____________________________________________________ Music I use: https://www.bensound.com License code: SQFMUMZO7OCVM0MR Artist: : Benjamin Lazzarus Music I Use: https://www.bensound.com/free-music-f... License code: LMUYBPTHPUNWHFON Artist: : Roman Senyk Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music License code: LKBHZIMAHIMRG8AO Artist: : Shaydow