Braised Lebanese 7 spice chicken with burnt eggplant

Ingredients

• 6 chicken marylands
• 2 tbsp baharat *(Lebanese 7 spice – Herbies or see recipe below
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 brown onions, peeled, sliced
• 2 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 3 cups chicken stock
• skin form 1 preserved lemon, cut into thin strips
• 3 sprigs thyme

Burnt Eggplant 

• 2 medium eggplant
• ½ cup tahini
• 2 clove garlic, finely chopped
• juice 1 lemon
• salt

Salad

• 1 medium turnip, peeled, finely shaved
• 1 medium beetroot, peeled, finely shaved
• 1 medium fennel, finely shaved
• 4 radish, finely sliced
• heart and inner leaves of 1 bunch celery, finely sliced on an angle
• ½ pomegranate, seeds removed
• ¼ bunch mint, picked
• ¼ bunch dill, picked
• ¼ bunch flat parsley, picked
• ¼ cup walnuts, lightly roasted, roughly chopped

Dressing

• 2 tsp pomegranate molasses
• juice 1 lemon
• 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp baharat*
• salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Baharat

• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• ½ teaspoon cardamom seeds
• 1½ tablespoons paprika
• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Lightly toast all whole spices then grind with a pestle and mortar

Method

1. First marinate the chicken. Rub the chicken with the bahrat, salt and olive oil and set aside for at least 2 hours.
2. Turn the Function dial to Slow cook setting
3. Turn the Time dial to 4 hours
4. Turn the Temperature Dial to HIGH
5. Press the Start button 
6. Heat oil in an oven proof casserole dish over a medium/high heat on the stove top for 1 minutes. Add marinated chicken marylands in batches cook for 3-5 minutes each side or until browned on both sides. Remove.
7. Add the onion, garlic and chilli flakes, cook for 5 minutes or until the onion start to soften.
8. Pour in the stock and gently scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to remove any sediment that has cooked onto the bottom of dish.
9. Add the chicken, preserved lemon and thyme, cover with foil and cook in the oven for 4 hours or until the meat is very tender and coming away from the bone.
10. Whilst the chicken in cooking, Place the eggplants over a flame and cook, turning during cooking until the skin is charred and the flesh soft. Dunk the cooked eggplants into a bowl of cold water and quickly remove the skin, drain the flesh on paper towel.  Roughly chop the eggplant flesh and place in a bowl stir through the remaining ingredients and season with salt to taste.
11. After preparing the salad ingredients, gently toss them together in a bowl.
12. In a small bowl or jar, whisk or shake together the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, olive oil, baharat an a little salt. Pour this over the salad just before serving and toss to dress the salad.
13. When the chicken is cooked, Gently remove the chicken legs from the dish. Skim any fat from the cooking liquid. Return the ovenproof casserole to the stovetop and cook the liquid for 5 minutes over a high heat until it is reduced and thickened slightly.
14.  Place the chicken back into the glaze to warm through and get coated in the glaze, check seasoning, then serve with the burnt eggplant and shaved vegetable salad.