Chicken Gyros with Chips and Tzatziki

Ingredients

• 800g boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp garlic granules
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 900g Maris Piper potatoes, scrubbed and cut into thick chips
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 250g Greek yoghurt
• ½ cucumber, coarsely grated and excess water squeezed out
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 10g fresh dill, roughly chopped
• ½ lemon, juice only
• 4 warm pitta breads, to serve
• 3 ripe tomatoes, sliced, to serve
• 1 red onion, finely sliced into half-moons, to serve
• 15g fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly torn, to serve
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
• dried chilli flakes, to finish

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Toss the chips with the olive oil, dried oregano and a generous pinch of salt on a large baking tray, then spread them in a single layer with space between each chip — crowded chips steam instead of crisping.
2. Roast for 30 minutes, turning once halfway, until deep golden with blistered, crackling edges.
3. While the chips go in, combine the smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, garlic granules and ground coriander with the olive oil in a large bowl. The oil blooms the ground spices as they sit — raw spice tastes dusty, oil-slicked spice tastes of itself. Add a good pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper, then add the chicken thighs and toss until every piece is slick with the rust-red rub. Season the thighs again on the skin side before they hit the pan.
4. Lay the thighs skin-side down in a large ovenproof frying pan over a high heat, working in two batches if your pan is small — crowd the pan and the skin steams instead of crisping. Cook undisturbed for 6 minutes, until the skin is deeply golden and releases cleanly from the pan. If it sticks, it isn't ready — give it another minute.
5. Flip the thighs skin-side up and transfer the pan to the oven. Roast for 15 minutes, until the juices run clear and the skin is crisp and charred at the edges.
6. While the chicken roasts, make the tzatziki. Grate the garlic clove straight into the Greek yoghurt — raw grated garlic mellows in the yoghurt over a few minutes, so don't be tempted to cook it; you want it fragrant and sharp, not bitter. Stir in the squeezed cucumber, extra virgin olive oil, dill and the lemon juice. Taste and season — it should be cool, garlicky and bright. Adjust now, not at the table.
7. Rest the chicken for 5 minutes on a board, then slice thickly across the grain so the juices pool back into the meat rather than running off the board.
8. Warm the pittas directly over a gas flame or in a dry pan for 1–2 minutes, turning, until lightly charred and puffed.
9. Taste a slice of chicken with a smear of tzatziki — adjust the salt one last time. The yoghurt softens the seasoning, so the chicken needs to lead.
10. Load each warm pitta with sliced chicken, tomato and red onion, spoon over a generous heap of tzatziki, scatter with torn parsley and a pinch of chilli flakes, and serve with the chips piled alongside and lemon wedges to squeeze over the lot.