Bulgur with Aubergine & Chicken

📝 Ingredients

• 2 aubergines (about 300 g each)
• 3 tbsp olive oil (2 for the aubergines, ½ for the chicken, ½ for the bulgur)
• 500 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tsp sweet paprika + 1 tsp ground cumin
• 250 g coarse bulgur
• 1 brown onion + 2 garlic cloves
• 1 green pepper
• 2 tomatoes (about 120 g each)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 chicken stock cube + 500 ml hot water
• 2 tsp dried mint (1 for the bulgur, 1 for the yoghurt)
• 300 g Greek yoghurt 2 %
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Baking sheet + parchment paper
• Sauté pan with lid
• Kitchen knife
• Chopping board
• Clean tea towel
• Bowl

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 220 °C. Cut the aubergines into 2 cm dice without peeling them and spread them out on the baking tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil, season with salt and toss with your hands to coat each piece well, then spread them out in a single layer.
2. Roast for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the dice are golden and meltingly soft: the tip of a knife should slide in without resistance. Crowded too tightly on the tray, they would steam rather than brown.
3. Meanwhile, cut the chicken into 3 cm pieces and season with paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Heat ½ tbsp oil in the sauté pan over a high heat and sear the chicken for 6 to 7 minutes, turning it, until golden and no longer pink in the centre. Set aside on a plate.
4. Slice the onion, cut the pepper into small dice and chop the garlic. In the same sauté pan over a medium heat, add ½ tbsp oil, the onion and the pepper, and fry for 5 minutes until tender. Add the garlic and tomato purée, and stir for 1 minute.
5. Add the diced tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes, until they start to break down. Tip in the bulgur and stir for 1 minute to coat it well, then add the hot stock (cube dissolved in 500 ml water) and 1 tsp dried mint. Bring to the boil.
6. Cover, reduce to a low heat and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid, until all the liquid has been absorbed. Off the heat, slip the clean tea towel under the lid and leave to stand for 10 minutes: the grains become tender and separate nicely.
7. Add the roasted aubergines and the chicken with its juices to the bulgur, then fold gently with a fork so as not to crush the aubergines. Cover for 2 minutes to warm the chicken through, taste and adjust the salt and pepper.
8. In the bowl, mix the Greek yoghurt with 1 tsp dried mint and a pinch of salt. Serve the bulgur piping hot on plates, with a generous spoonful of minty yoghurt on top.