Aubergine Wrapped Spicy Chicken

This recipe came from the idea of a Turkish Chicken Beyti which is minced chicken wrapped in flatbreads and cooked in a sauce. Here I have omitted the bread, spiced up the chicken and wrapped it in griddled aubergine slices, before coating in a thick tomato and aubergine sauce.

Absolutely delicious served with zucchini couscous and very filling too!

Ingredients:

2 aubergines
a little oil
3 chicken breasts, roughly chopped
1-2 green chillies
2 cloves garlic
100g grated cheese

For the sauce:

1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp. paprika
3 tbsp. tomato paste
1 cup water
400g tin tomatoes
salt & pepper

Method:

Slice the aubergines lengthwise. You want the biggest slices for rolling so choose about 12 total slices from the middle of the vegetables. The rest of the aubergine is going in the sauce so no waste.

Brush the aubergine slices with oil and griddle until softened - leave to cool on some kitchen paper. Griddle the leftover offcuts of aubergine and leave to one side. Put the chicken, chillies and garlic into a food processor and process until minced. To assemble the rolls, lay one softened aubergine slice in front of you on a board, with the wider bit towards you. Sprinkle with cheese and take a bit of the minced chicken and place on the wider end. Roll up and secure with a cocktail stick. Put into a roasting tray and continue until all rolled up.

Pop in the oven at 190 C for about 15 minutes, while you make the sauce.

Put the onion and garlic into a small saucepan and cook in a little oil for 5 minutes until softened. Add the paprika and tomato paste and stir in. Add the water and bring to the boil. Add the tomatoes and seasoning and cook for 10 minutes until thickened. Add the cooked leftover aubergine and take off the heat. Use a stick blender to blitz the sauce until smooth. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

Take the chicken rolls out of the oven and gently remove the cocktail sticks. Pour the sauce over and around the rolls and pop back in the oven for a further 10 minutes.

Serve with rice or couscous.

Note: for the zucchini couscous, make up some couscous to pack instructions and add one grated courgette and half a small chopped red onion. Re-heat and serve.