These lovely courgette pattie/potato cakes are ideal to serve up with all kinds of grilled meat or served as a vegetarian dish with salads. I think that the oregano, lemon and garlic treatment for the chicken gives it a Greek twist that fits in nicely with the mint and feta flavouring the potato cakes - so all that’s left to do is add your own favourite simple green salad.

Courgettes are notoriously wet and it is worth giving them an hour of salting to bring out their excessive moisture and any bitterness. Be sure to rinse well afterwards and then squeeze out every drop by first using your hands and then wrapping in a clean cloth and wringing out again!

Ingredients - serves 4

4 plump chicken thighs
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp oregano leaves, torn
2 tbsp Eleanthos olive oil
salt, pepper

2 medium courgettes, trimmed & grated
2 potatoes, peeled, par-boiled & grated
100g feta cheese crumbled
1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped
1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
salt, pepper
1 small egg, beaten

plain flour for dusting
melted butter for brushing

Method

Mix lemon zest, garlic, olive oil and herbs together and marinade the chicken in it with some seasoning, and refrigerate while the courgettes are being salted. Place the grated courgette in a colander and sprinkle with a little salt - leave for an hour until the liquid is extracted- rinse thoroughly with cold water and squeeze as I suggested. While the courgette is being salted par boil the potatoes for about 8 minutes then leave to cool before grating.

Preheat the oven to 220°C
Mix the grated potato, courgette, herbs and cheese together with seasoning and the beaten egg. Form into four patties and dust with plain flour. Take an oven proof tray and brush with melted butter, sit the potato cakes on it and brush their tops with melted butter also then transfer to the oven. Place the chicken pieces in a roasting dish with marinade and transfer to the oven too.

Cook both chicken and potato cakes for 30 minutes, turning the cakes half way through. Check that the chicken is completely cooked through before serving, and the cakes should be cooked and golden brown. Serve with crisp green salad and lemon dressing.