Chicken with samfaina
A vibrant and robust Catalan classic. I've adapted this dish from a recipe by food writer Coleman Andrews. I prefer cooking the eggplant over an open flame to give it a touch of smokiness and depth; it can be done in the oven as well. The chicken is first roasted in the oven and then the samfaina is added to the pan to combine flavours.
Ingredients
Chicken
1 free range chicken, cut in 4 pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp chilli flakes
100mL extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil to finish
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Samfaina
2 medium eggplants
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 anchovy fillets
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1.5cm dice
3 small capsicums
(2 red, 1 green), roasted, peeled and cut into strips
4 tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
Method
For chicken: Preheat oven to 200C.
Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper and chilli and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Roast for 1 hour or until golden brown.
For samfaina: While chicken is roasting, make the samfaina. Turn eggplants frequently over an open gas flame until charred all over. Try not to break the skin as you turn them. Remove to a plate to cool slightly. Half eggplants, scoop out the flesh and cut into strips, avoiding charred skin.
Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until softened and golden. Add the anchovies, zucchini and capsicum, season with salt and pepper and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, then add the tomatoes and cook a further 5 mins. Add eggplant, remove from heat and season to taste.
When the chicken is done, remove from oven and add the samfaina to the roasting pan with the chicken and stir to combine all the juices and flavours. Return pan to oven to cook a further 5 mins.
To serve
Drizzle with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and finish with chopped parsley.
Serve hot or warm.
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