Moroccan Chicken with Aubergines

This is a dish we had the other night, when I realised that we haven't had Moroccan food for AGES! Also I had some baby aubergines (eggplant) that I was meant to use in another dish, but hadn't.

So pulling out the dried apricots, flaked almonds and various spices, I set to work on this. Moroccan Chicken with Aubergines, couscous and yoghurt.

Ingredients:    (Serves 3-4)

3-4 chicken breasts
a little olive oil
1 large aubergine or a few small
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
about 10 dried apricots, soaked and halved
400g tin plum tomatoes, halved
handful flaked almonds


Method:

Set the oven to 200 C. Halve the aubergine(s), set on a baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil and season. Bake for about 35-40 minutes until soft. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Flatten the chicken breasts (I put one at a time into a freezer bag and hit firmly with a rolling pin until about 1 cm). Cut in half, widthways. Heat a little oil in a large pan and fry the chicken each side until just turning golden. Drain on kitchen paper and set to one side.

In the same pan, add the onion and garlic and fry in the oil and juices until golden. Add the spices and fry to release the aromas and then add the apricots and tomatoes and stir well. Scrape the cooked aubergines from the skin with a spoon and chop. Add to sauce and stir in along with the chicken, spooning the sauce over. Squeeze in the juice of a lemon and leave to simmer gently for about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, garnish with fresh coriander and flaked almonds and serve with couscous and yoghurt.

For the couscous:

Put 1 cup couscous into a bowl and add one vegetable stock cube. Add just over 1 cup boiling waiter and stir. Cover with cling film and leave to steam for five minutes. Add anything you like - I added chopped tomatoes, chopped raw courgette, finely chopped red onion and some chopped coriander stalks. Serve this with the chicken, lots of sauce and a dollop of yoghurt, sprinkled with paprika. Enjoy!