Roast Moroccan Chicken with Chickpea Chips, Eggplant Pickle and Parsley Salad

This recipe is fantastic for a dinner party. Table set, wine open all you have to do is place the dishes on table and watch your guests help themselves! Watch them frenzy on all things spice...

 

2 tbsp coriander seeds

1½ tbsp cumin seeds

1½ tbsp white peppercorns

2 tsp mustard seeds

2 tsp ground turmeric

2 tbsp ground ginger

35 gm (¼ cup) plain flour

400 ml buttermilk

1 chicken (2 kg), jointed

To serve: sheep’s milk yoghurt mixed with tahini, lemon juice and honey

Eggplant pickle

3 eggplant, diced into 2cm pieces

100 ml vegetable oil

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

15 gm (2½ cm piece)               ginger, finely chopped

1 long red chilli, deseeded, finely chopped

1 tsp each ground coriander, ground turmeric, ground cumin and mustard seeds

200 ml white wine vinegar

75 gm brown sugar

Chickpea chips

225 ml milk

1 tbsp olive oil

10 gm butter

170 gm chickpea flour

For dusting: fine polenta

For shallow frying: vegetable oil

Parsley salad

30 gm pine nuts

1 cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley

1½ tbsp currants, soaked in 2 tbsp orange juice

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

For eggplant pickle, lightly salt eggplant in a colander and stand until bitter juices drain (20-25 minutes). Rinse under cold water and pat dry with absorbent paper. Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over high heat, add half the eggplant, turn occasionally until golden (3-5 minutes), then drain on absorbent paper. Repeat with remaining oil and eggplant, then return reserved eggplant to pan with garlic, ginger, chilli and spices and sauté until fragrant (3-5 minutes). Deglaze with vinegar, then stir through sugar and reduce heat to medium. Simmer until slightly thickened (5-7 minutes), season to taste, spread onto an oven tray and set aside to cool.

For chickpea chips, bring milk, olive oil and butter to the boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, then gradually add chickpea flour, whisking continuously until very thick (3-5 minutes). Pour into an oven tray lined with baking paper and set aside to cool. When cool, turn out and cut into 2cm x 7cm chips. Just before serving, heat oil in a deep frying pan to 180C, dust chickpea chips in polenta and fry in batches, turning occasionally until golden and crisp (3-5 minutes). Drain on absorbent paper, season to taste and keep warm in oven.

Meanwhile, for parsley salad, toast pine nuts in a frying pan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until golden (3-5 minutes), then set aside to cool. Combine with remaining ingredients and season to taste.

Heat a char-grill pan over medium heat. Dry-roast whole spices until fragrant (30 seconds-1 minute), then finely grind with a mortar and pestle. Combine in a bowl with flour, remaining spices and 1 tbsp fine sea salt. Dip chicken pieces in buttermilk, then coat in spice mixture and grill, turning occasionally, until just cooked through (15-20 minutes). Serve with hot chickpea chips, eggplant pickle, parsley salad and tahini yoghurt.