Although the ingredient list here sounds a bit random, together the ingredients balance each other out so that the end dish is a cracking mix of sweet, spicy, and umami. This is one of my favourite chicken dishes, as once you've bunged everything into a dish it pretty much cooks itself. Pistachios can be a bit pricey, but cashews would also work nicely here too, as would swapping the dates for prunes. Serve with brown or wild rice.
What's the A to V?
Lean meat like chicken is a great source of B's 1, 2 and 3, and of course zinc. The mighty aubergine packs a fairly decent B6 and potassium punch, while the pistachio nuts are even higher in B6, as well as providing a good hit of magnesium, iron, copper and chromium. Serve with brown or wild rice for some added vitamin B.
Ingredients (Serves 2):
1 onion, halved and then chopped into crescent moons
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
4 chicken thighs or legs
1 aubergine, cubed
6 medjool dates, or prunes
1 large orange, zest and juice
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cumin
3 tsp harissa
1/2 a pint of chicken stock
Olive oil
2 handfuls of pistachio or cashew nuts (crushed)
Coriander and mint to finish.
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Put your aubergine, onion, garlic and chicken pieces into an oven dish, and add your spices, harissa and orange juice and zest. Mix everything together well, and season your chicken bits with salt, pepper, and garlic salt if you have any.
Making sure that your chicken pieces are skin up, pour the chicken stock over the dish, drizzle a good couple of glugs of olive oil on top, and place in the oven.
Cook for 45 to 50 minutes until the sauce has reduced and your chicken is nice and crispy on top. Sprinkle your pistachio nuts and some coriander and mint over the top and serve.