This garlic paste may become one of your secret weapon’s.

I love my food and cherish my time in the kitchen but just like you, my life is a busy one and you have to have a few tricks up your sleeve to make that mid week meal one that is minimum effort but results in maximum smiles and lends itself to lots of gorgeous ‘table time’ as the day draws to a close. This garlic paste does exactly that and no, you wont have the breathe of a vampire the days proceeding!

I make up this paste and then keep it (for up to 1 month) in the fridge. It comes out every week for that entire month to grace our plates for one meal or another. It takes no more than 5 minutes to make this paste so it’s fair to say I am very happy with it’s output compare to my 5 minute input!

This recipe is from the cookbook ‘Relish Mama – recipes from a shared kitchen and the Relish Mama kitchen’. You can order your very own copy for loads of inspiration here.

Garlic paste

Enjoy this paste on any meat or other protein. It is particularly great on those cooked on the barbecue.

1 medium head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
1 teaspoon salt
250ml olive oil
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 skinless free-range chicken breast fillets, cut into 3cm cubes
2–3 tablespoons garlic paste
Zest of 1 lemon (reserve juice for yoghurt sauce)

Yoghurt sauce

125ml Greek yoghurt
Juice of ½ lemon
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

For the garlic paste, place the garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle (or use a blender or food processor) and pound to a smooth paste. Gradually add the oil (as you would for mayonnaise) and then add the lemon zest and juice. If the mixture separates, add a couple more cloves of garlic and pound/blend again. Spoon into a sterilised jar and refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Combine 3 skinless breast fillets with 2–3 tablespoons of the garlic paste and let it work its magic, covered, in the fridge for approximately 1 hour. The chicken can then be threaded onto skewers and cooked on the barbecue or in a frying pan for approximately 5 minutes or until golden.

To make the yoghurt sauce, simply combine the yoghurt with lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil when serving.

To serve, place the chicken skewers on a platter and serve accompanied with the lemon yoghurt sauce and a lovely simple salad of cos leaves, summer tomatoes and chopped parlsey.