Chicken thighs roasted on a tray of eggplant, cherry tomatoes and onion until the eggplant collapses and the tomatoes burst into a sauce, with oregano and olive oil, on couscous with a spoon of yoghurt.
Metric avoids regional spoon ambiguity. US uses 5 mL tsp, 15 mL tbsp and 240 mL cup. Small masses stay in grams unless a verified recipe conversion exists. More on measurements
2 medium eggplants, cut into 3 cm chunks (500 g)
1 large red or brown onion, cut into wedges (200 g)
400 g cherry tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled and lightly crushed (20 g)
50 ml extra-virgin olive oil (45 g)
4 g dried oregano
3 g iodised table salt
600 g boneless skinless chicken thighs
240 g wholemeal couscous
300 ml boiling water (300 g)
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice (30 g)
15 g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
160 g Greek yoghurt
Ground black pepper, to taste
Method
Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan. Use a roasting tray at least 35 x 45 cm, or two smaller trays: the vegetables need to lie in one layer, because crowding steams the eggplant instead of roasting it. Put the eggplant, onion, tomatoes and garlic on the tray, add the oil, oregano and two-thirds of the salt, and toss with your hands until everything is coated.
Roast for 20 minutes until the eggplant has started to brown and the tomatoes are splitting.
Season the chicken thighs with the remaining salt and pepper, and lay them on top of the vegetables, smooth side up. Roast 20-25 minutes more, until the chicken is at least 75C/167F in the thickest part and the tomato juices have run into the tray.
While the chicken cooks, put the couscous in a bowl, pour over the boiling water, cover with a plate and leave 8 minutes. Fork it through with the lemon juice and half the parsley.
Rest the tray 5 minutes. Squeeze the garlic out of its skins into the tray juices and stir them through the vegetables. Serve the chicken and vegetables over the couscous with all the juices, a spoon of yoghurt each and the rest of the parsley.
Serve
Spoon the tray juices over the couscous first; they are the sauce.
Tomorrow
Keeps two days because of the couscous. Store the yoghurt separately and add it at the table. Reheat the chicken and vegetables together in a covered pan or the oven until steaming hot; the couscous can be eaten cold.
Safety and storage
Cook to
75°C / 167°F in the centre (poultry, including minced poultry)
Keeps
2 days refrigerated below 5°C
Reheat to
steaming hot, at least 75°C
The Food Safety Information Council table gives poultry, whole or minced, as 75°C in the centre. Colour and clear juices are not a reliable test. Check the thickest part with a thermometer.
Cooked rice and pasta keep two days rather than three, so this dish takes the shorter time. Cool it fast: split large amounts into shallow containers as soon as it stops steaming, and have it in the fridge within two hours. Reheat once only, until steaming hot right through, at least 75°C in the centre.
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Chicken thighs roasted on a tray of eggplant, cherry tomatoes and onion until the eggplant collapses and the tomatoes burst into a sauce, with oregano and olive oil, on couscous with a spoon of yoghurt.
Ingredients
2 medium eggplants, cut into 3 cm chunks (500 g)
1 large red or brown onion, cut into wedges (200 g)
400 g cherry tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled and lightly crushed (20 g)
50 ml extra-virgin olive oil (45 g)
4 g dried oregano
3 g iodised table salt
600 g boneless skinless chicken thighs
240 g wholemeal couscous
300 ml boiling water (300 g)
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice (30 g)
15 g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
160 g Greek yoghurt
Ground black pepper, to taste
Approximate per serving
2519 kJ / 602 kcal · protein 42.2 g · carbohydrate 57 g · fibre 10.3 g · fat 20.2 g · sodium 436.6 mg
Method
Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan. Use a roasting tray at least 35 x 45 cm, or two smaller trays: the vegetables need to lie in one layer, because crowding steams the eggplant instead of roasting it. Put the eggplant, onion, tomatoes and garlic on the tray, add the oil, oregano and two-thirds of the salt, and toss with your hands until everything is coated.
Roast for 20 minutes until the eggplant has started to brown and the tomatoes are splitting.
Season the chicken thighs with the remaining salt and pepper, and lay them on top of the vegetables, smooth side up. Roast 20-25 minutes more, until the chicken is at least 75C/167F in the thickest part and the tomato juices have run into the tray.
While the chicken cooks, put the couscous in a bowl, pour over the boiling water, cover with a plate and leave 8 minutes. Fork it through with the lemon juice and half the parsley.
Rest the tray 5 minutes. Squeeze the garlic out of its skins into the tray juices and stir them through the vegetables. Serve the chicken and vegetables over the couscous with all the juices, a spoon of yoghurt each and the rest of the parsley.
Serve
Spoon the tray juices over the couscous first; they are the sauce.
Tomorrow
Keeps two days because of the couscous. Store the yoghurt separately and add it at the table. Reheat the chicken and vegetables together in a covered pan or the oven until steaming hot; the couscous can be eaten cold.
Safety and storage
Cook to
75°C / 167°F in the centre (poultry, including minced poultry)
Keeps
2 days refrigerated below 5°C
Reheat to
steaming hot, at least 75°C
The Food Safety Information Council table gives poultry, whole or minced, as 75°C in the centre. Colour and clear juices are not a reliable test. Check the thickest part with a thermometer.
Cooked rice and pasta keep two days rather than three, so this dish takes the shorter time. Cool it fast: split large amounts into shallow containers as soon as it stops steaming, and have it in the fridge within two hours. Reheat once only, until steaming hot right through, at least 75°C in the centre.
Everyday Mediterranean-style cooking, which has promising early evidence in psoriasis and is good eating in its own right. Food like this sits alongside the care your clinician gives you rather than replacing any of it.
