Caramelized Aubergine and Tahini with Grilled Chicken
An end of week meal that brought all the remaining ingredients together in harmony. I caramelized aubergine and onion with a touch of lemon juice, coriander. That paired with a delicious butterflied chicken thigh, fried in thyme and garlic infused olive oil. Delicious, and the recipe follows!
Ingredients (For 2)
2 Chicken Thighs, butterflied
2 Aubergines, diced into cubes
2 Brown Onions, finely sliced
5 Mushrooms, finely sliced
1 Bulb of Garlic, peeled, half crushed the other half minced
Hulled Tahini
Juice of Lemon
1 Orange Kumara, cut into six wedges
2 Florets of Broccoli
A small bunch of thyme
2 Teaspoons Dried Coriander
2 Teaspoons of Paprika
Flaky Sea Salt
Cracked Pepper
Olive oil
Method
Coat a large frying pan in a generous amount of olive oil. Turn to a medium heat, and add the onions, minced garlic and mushrooms. Once soft, add the aubergine, coriander, paprika and lemon juice, lower heat to lowest, and cover. Saute for half an hour. The aubergine will soften and start to break down.
In a separate frying pan on a low heat, pour a generous lug of olive oil, and gently fry the crushed garlic and bunch of thyme. Saute until the garlic is nicely browned, then increase the heat to medium and put the chicken in the frying pan, skin-side down. Press it into the frying pan and fry until the skin is crispy. Flip the chicken once the skin is crispy and caramelized.
Check on the aubergine. It should be breaking down well by now. Uncover, increase the heat and caramelize with a little more olive oil. You want to simultaneously brown and cook the moisture out of the aubergine. Keep it moving with a wooden spoon.
Meanwhile, put the kumara in a pot and boil in salty water until tender.
Blanch the broccoli florets for 1 minute until blooming green. Drain and let dry. Trim the green off, then mix with a few pinches of salt and some pepper and a little extra dried coriander.
Once the aubergine is brown and completely tender, mix in 3 tablespoons of tahini, then salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the kumara with some of the caramelized aubergine, a chicken thigh and some broccoli salt. Finally if you're into garlic, eat some of the crushed and fried garlic cloves! Pepper and salt.
Enjoy!
