Description
Middle Eastern Chicken & Aubergine Bowl, with fresh salad and yogurt dressing
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 x large organic chicken breasts
- 1.5 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- oregano
- olive oil
- 1 large aubergine
- 1 cup brown or white rice
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- 2 small plum tomatoes
- small onion
- handful black olives – pitted
- handful chopped flat leaf parsley
- 2 x fresh limes
- salt & pepper
Yogurt Topping
- 3/4 cup yogurt (of your choosing, vegan or dairy)
- 1 lime
- handful parsley
- 1 clove garlic
- sat and pepper
- few sprigs of mint (optional)
Instructions
- Start with the aubergine by trimming off the stem and end, then cut lengthways into 1cm slices. I cut my aubergine in half before doing this for ease, but it’s up to you. Toss in a large bowl with olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper. Get an oven proof skillet onto the stovetop on a medium-high heat with a further dash of olive oil and fry these for 5-7 mins each side – it takes two batches normally. When the 1st batch is on, set your oven to 365 deg F.
- While the aubergine is on the go, rinse your rice and cook according to packet instructions (my usual rule is 1 cup rice to 2 cups boiling water). Put a timer on as not to dry out, and when it’s ready, just turn off the heat and leave the lid on until ready to serve.
- In another bowl, marinade your chicken in the cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Once the 2nd batch of aubergine is done, remove from the pan and set aside. Give the pan another small dash of olive oil and set your heat to high – add the chicken breasts after about a minute or two (let the pan get hot). Fry these for about 6 mins each side, they should be golden brown but still pink in the middle. Once ready, cover with aluminum foil before placing into the oven for about 8-10 mins. The meat should be juicy and white on the inside when cooked.
- While cooking the chicken in step three, prepare your fresh salad. Dice the onion and tomatoes, halve the olives, and finely chop the parsley. Add everything to a mixing bowl and finish with a dash of olive oil, salt, pepper, and the squeeze of 1.5 fresh limes. Set aside and prepare your yogurt sauce – place all ingredients into a food processor/blender and pulse until smooth, salt and pepper to taste.
- When removing the chicken from the oven, you’ll notice there is a wonderful natural juice/gravy that forms after baking, add a squeeze of half the remaining lime to this for serving.
- To assemble, dish some rice and chicken, and use that natural gravy from the pan to spoon over both. Add your aubergine, fresh salad, and top with a few scoops of the yogurt sauce.
Notes
For the yogurt sauce, I use vegan cashew yogurt as that’s a staple in my fridge, but oat or soy will work too – the only non-dairy yogurt id avoid is coconut, it’s just too ‘desserty’. And then of course, there’s the ‘rea’l thing. I’ve used dairy feta in this recipe, but a vegan substitute will work just as well to keep things completely dairy free. To make the whole dish vegan, sub the chicken for roasted chickpeas, recipe link below!
https://theblondeflexitarian.com/roasted-chickpeas-v/
- Cook Time: 60
- Category: Lunch/Dinner
- Method: Stovetop/Bake
- Cuisine: Middle-Eastern