Buttermilk chicken tortas

Method

1. To make the hot sauce, put a pan over a medium heat and add the spices. Gently toast for a few minutes until smelling fragrant. Add the habanero chillies, if using, for the last 30 seconds.

2. Transfer to a blender and blitz, then put aside.

3. Add the tomatoes, onion, carrot, garlic and scotch bonnet, if using, to the pan used to toast the spices and turn up the heat.

4. Dry roast for 7 minutes, then remove the garlic and continue to roast everything else for another 10-12 minutes or until blackened all over. Empty them all into the blender with 200ml/7fl oz water and blitz.

5. Add the citrus zest, vinegar, marmalade and 1 teaspoon of the spice mix and blitz again.

6. Pour the oil into a sauce pan over a medium heat with 2 teaspoons sea salt. Empty in the chilli paste and stir for 3–4 minutes to cook out the onions.

7. Squeeze in the citrus juices, season generously with plenty of black pepper and cook for another 10–15 minutes.

8. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt or citrus if needed.

9. Allow to cool, pour into a sterilised bottle and allow to sit on the work top for 3–4 days before storing in the fridge.

10. To make the poolish, mix 250g/9oz water with the yeast, then add the flour. Combine until no dry bits remain, then cover and leave somewhere warm until bubbly and almost tripled in size.

11. Next, to make the torta dough make your ‘first dough’, add 166g/6oz water and the yeast to the poolish (it may look like it’s split, but this is normal). Add both the flours and mix until fully combined. Cover and rest for 1 hour.

12. Then make your ‘final dough’, add 40g/1½oz water and the salt to your dough mixture, and mix until smooth, elastic and stretchy – you can either do this by hand (scoop, stretch, and fold for around 10 minutes) or with a mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment (2 minutes on slow, then 4 minutes on fast).

13. Next is the bulk ferment, transfer the dough into a square tub and rest for 3 hours, folding once per hour (stretch north, south, east, then west). The dough should feel pillowy, bubbly, and light.

14. After the ferment, refrigerate the dough for between 30 minutes and 4 hours, for easier handling (optional).

15. Preheat the oven to 230C/210C Fan/Gas 8, and place a large baking tray inside to preheat.

16. Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured surface. Gently pull corners to form a neat square. Cut with a dough scraper into 8–12 even squares.

17. Place the squares carefully onto the hot baking tray, allowing plenty of space between them – they’ll relax and spread slightly.

18. Bake until deep golden brown, then remove from the tray immediately and cool on a wire rack.

19. To make the chicken, add the chicken thighs to a mixing bowl and cover in the buttermilk. Leave to marinate for as long as possible, ideally overnight.

20. Meanwhile, to make the cauliflower pickle, put the vinegar, salt, sugar, spices, bay leaf and 200ml/7fl oz water into a medium pan over a medium heat and bring to a simmer.

21. Stir and once the sugar has melted, add the onions, cauliflower and carrots to the pan.

22. Simmer gently for a minute, then turn off the heat and add the jalapeños. If you can leave for a few hours or overnight to pickle the flavour will improve.

23. To finish the chicken, mix all the remaining ingredients together in a mixing bowl, add the marinated chicken and coat well. Fry to 75C.

24. To make the jalapeño aioli, heat a small dry frying pan over a high heat and add the jalapeño and garlic. Char all over for 5–10 minutes.

25. Add to the bowl of a small food processor with the egg yolks, half a teaspoon of salt, coriander leaves, vinegar and half of the lime juice. Blitz to a paste.