Grilled poussin with yoghurt, smashed tomatoes and flat bread

Serves 4

Pass the sauces and flat bread around for people to help themselves © Lisa Barber

4 poussin (ask your butcher to spatchcock them for you)
2tbsp good-quality sea salt
The juice of one lemon
4tbsp olive oil
1 small bunch of marjoram, leaves only
1 red chilli, finely sliced, seeds left in
For the tomato sauce
5 plum tomatoes
2 sprigs rosemary
1 clove of garlic
1tbsp red-wine vinegar
120ml/4fl oz extra-virgin olive oil
1 dried red chilli
A good pinch of sea salt
For the yoghurt
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
50ml/2fl oz extra-virgin olive oil
A pinch of salt
180ml/6fl oz thick Greek-style yoghurt
For the flat bread
1tsp fennel seeds
225g/71/2oz plain flour
1tsp baking powder
2 whole eggs
2tsp plain yoghurt
1tsp olive oil
A pinch of salt

Lay the chickens flat and scatter the salt over. Cover lightly with a damp cloth and store in the fridge for 24 hours.

Preheat a barbecue or flat grill. Take the chickens, scrape off the salt, wash and pat dry, then lay on a large plate, squeeze over the lemon juice. Drizzle over the olive oil and scatter over the marjoram and chilli. Massage the birds to incorporate the flavours in their flesh. Set aside.

Slice the tomatoes in half lengthwise and place on the middle shelf of the oven at 160C/325F/Gas3 for 30 minutes or until they are slightly caramelised at the edges. Remove and allow to cool slightly. Place a third of the tomatoes in a pestle and mortar along with the rosemary leaves and garlic, and pound until you have a mushy paste. Add the vinegar and olive oil and stir to combine. Chop the remaining tomatoes roughly and add to the paste; add a good pinch of salt, stir once again then set aside for the flavours to marry.

To make the yoghurt dressing, add crushed garlic, olive oil and salt to the Greek yoghurt. Stir well then set aside.

To make the flat bread, warm the fennel seeds in a little pan to release their aniseed flavour. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, make a well in the centre and add the eggs, yoghurt and olive oil. Stir to combine, dragging the dry ingredients into the wet. Soon you will have the beginnings of a dough; add the fennel seeds and salt. Place a little flour on a work surface and knead the dough for four minutes, then return to a clean bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Place in a warm place to rest for half an hour. When you are ready to roll it, flour a work surface and break the dough into little balls – this quantity will make 10 flat breads. Using a rolling pin, roll the balls into flat, long pieces of bread 1/8-inch thick. They can sit for a couple of hours in the fridge or throw them on the grill straight away. Serve brushed with a little olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt.

Place the chickens flesh-side down and grill for eight minutes; move them around every now and then so they cook evenly. Turn and cook for six minutes on the underside. A couple of minutes before they are ready, throw the flatbread on the grill and cook for a minute on one side; turn and cook for a few seconds on the other.

To serve, arrange the chickens on a large plate. Pass the sauces and flat bread around for people to help themselves. '