A few days of scorching temperatures were a bit challenging for me and our paw-ster. The little one was wilting in the heat, many a time on his morning park walk he would find a shady spot to sit under. These walks are definitely functional rather than the usual leisurely walk, sniff and play with his friends.
But no matter how hot it is, I still love to cook….mostly. The key is to find some easy to make and flavoursome recipes to tempt the appetite. I had a few chicken breasts in the fridge and aubergines on the counter, both are quite plain tasting ingredients, but with a little rummage in the pantry, I found some delicious flavour combinations to turn these into a perfect dish for two on a cooled but still muggy hot evening. Read on for my grilled harissa & fennel chicken breasts and a smoky aubergine salad (Baba Ganoush).
For me, aubergines are for grilling. It is my favourite way of cooking this vegetable without adding any oil to it. On its own aubergines don’t taste of much, but grilling imparts a delicious smoky flavour that is so unique and wonderful. For this recipe, I used 3 medium aubergines.
Place the aubergines, whole as they are, in a cast iron skillet. I like using this pan because it keeps the heat and is perfect for grilling. (Psst, my favourite is by Blacklock. Visit Sous Chef website for details, this is a fabulous website for many items from cooking equipment to cookbooks to a plethora of food stuff). Turn on the heat and leave them to roast and steam in their own skin, turning them over from time to time to get all sides evenly cooked. The skin should blister, darken and crisp up, this is when the charred flavour happens, so don’t worry about burning the aubergines, you are supposed to do that! Use a pair of tongs to move them around. When the aubergines are cooked they should feel nice and soft and squidgy. This process took about 20-30 minutes or it might take longer, as it depends on the size of the aubergines and heat. Sometimes the skin might burst a little but that’s a good sign! Once they are cooked, remove them to a plate and let them cool down. When they are cooled enough to handle, slit the middle open lengthways with a knife and scoop the flesh from the skin, it should easily come off. I like to strain off the natural juices so the salad isn’t too wet. Just place a colander or sieve over a bowl and place the flesh in the colander to drain off. When you have all the strained aubergines in a bowl, add these flavourings: a couple of tablespoons of tahini paste, a couple of cloves of grated / finely minced garlic, juice of a lemon, a teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika, a teaspoon of ground cumin, 2 teaspoons of Zataar, a tablespoon of pomegranate molasses and drizzle a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to loosen and mix. Don’t forget a good seasoning of salt and pepper. I like to do this by hand, rather than using a food processor, as this way you get a chunkier texture as supposed to a puree, especially if you are too heavy-handed with the food processor! Taste and season to your liking. Sometimes I top this salad with walnuts / pistachios / pine nuts, all toasted first, or even some fresh pomegranate seeds.
While I was grilling the aubergines, I marinated the chicken breasts with a tablespoon of so of fennel seeds, 3 cloves of grated garlic, 1 heaped teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika, 1 heaped teaspoon of ground cumin, 2 heaped teaspoons of harissa paste, salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Massage the flavourings into the chicken breasts, they can stay out on the counter while they marinate. After the aubergines have been cooked, I placed the chicken breasts in the same pan (straight in without adding any more oil to the pan) and grill them on both sides until fully cooked. Watch the heat so the marinade doesn’t burn. Afterwards, remove the chicken to a plate to rest for a few minutes before serving with the smoky aubergine salad.
This is a very simple and light meal. If you’d like to make it more substantial, get some flatbread from a Middle Eastern / Turkey grocer and lightly toast them, make a quick feta cheese, tomato, cucumber and red onion salad, or get a few mezze items to serve with it. Whichever you serve it, this is a wonderful meal for 2 or just as easy to scale up for many more mouths to feed!
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