SAVOURY CHICKEN BAKLAVA

I was tempted to cook a Baklava. I have very fond memories of eating Baklava in Istanbul many years ago. There was a cake shop on the way to our hotel and we couldn't go past without stopping and trying a different sweet every day. They were amazing!! However, I also wanted to try a recipe I had seen in one of my cookbooks of a pork & fennel baklava, and I wanted to try it because I also had fond memories from eating 'Pastilla' in Marrakesh. So, I decided to create my own recipe and made a traditional dish from Southern Turkey called 'Patlicanli Kebap' and to use it as a filling for my baklava. The result was just amazing... Loved the saltiness of the feta combined with the spiciness of the chicken mixture and finished with the sweet orange and cayenne syrup. Delicious!! It is not a difficult recipe to make, but it took me a long time to make it. I'd say I spent 3 hours plus in the kitchen, so it is something to do for a special occasion or a weekend meal.

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken recipe

2 medium eggplants

800g chicken thighs, cut into 4cm pieces

1 red capsicum, cut into 1cm slices

1 yellow capsicum, cut into 1cm slices

1 green capsicum, cut into 1cm slices

1 big onion, cut into slices

olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the chicken marinade

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 Tbsp plain whole milk yoghurt

1/2 Tbsp tomato paste

1/2 Tbsp Turkish hot pepper paste (I used Harissa)

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

For the sauce

1/2 tsp Turkish hot pepper paste (I used Harissa)

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 1/2 cup water

For the Baklava

6-8 sheets filo pastry

75g butter, melted

400g cherry tomatoes, halved

olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

200g feta cheese, crumbled

1 Tbsp nigella seeds, to garnish

For the syrup

100ml water

150g caster sugar

zest of 1 orange

good pinch cayenne pepper

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Line a baking tray with baking paper and put the cherry tomato halves with their cut sides facing upwards on the prepared tray. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a bit of olive oil.

Roast the tomatoes for about 1 hour and 45 minutes or until nicely burnished around the edges. Leave to cool on the baking tray.

In the meantime, cut the chicken into 4 cm slices and season with salt and pepper.

Prepare the marinade for the chicken. Put the yoghurt, garlic, olive oil, tomato paste, harissa, and chilli flakes in a large bowl.

Add the chicken and mix until well combined. Cover the marinade and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight.

Turn the oven up to 180°C.
Peel the eggplants in zebra stripes, using a vegetable peeler or a small knife.

Cut the eggplants lengthwise and then in 1cm thick slices. Place the slices on a tray and sprinkle salt over them. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Using a kitchen paper towel, squeeze the excess moisture out of the eggplants. Place them on a tray and drizzle 3 tablespoons of oil over them. Coat the pieces with the oil.

Partially bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, cut all capsicums and the onion into 1cm long pieces.

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy frypan and stir in the marinated chicken pieces. Saute over medium to high heat for about 4 minutes or until they are lightly brown. Turn the heat off.

In a large baking dish, place some eggplant slices, chicken pieces, onion and capsicum, alternating red, yellow and green capsicum pieces. Keep on placing the chicken and vegetable in this order side by side., until all the chicken and vegetables are layered.

To prepare the sauce, stir in the red pepper paste or harissa, tomato paste and water to the pan used for sauteing the chicken. Add any leftover chicken marinade to the pan and cook until it starts to bubble.

Pour this mixture over the chicken.

Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes, until the chicken and the vegetables are cooked and turned light golden colour.

At this point, the traditional recipe is finished, and if you want you can serve it hot with plain rice or bulgur pilaf on the side.
To make the baklava, let the chicken cool down.
Turn up the oven to 200°C.
Melt the butter into a small saucepan.

Brush the base of large 30cm square cake tin or ovenproof dish generously with some of the melted butter.
Line the base of the prepared dish with 4 sheets of filo pastry - 2 lengthways, 2 widthways - allowing an equal amount of pastry to overhang each side of the tin.
Brush the pastry with melted butter.

Spoon half the chicken mixture into the dish and spread it evenly across the pastry.

Fold over two of the overhanging sheets and brush with butter. Scatter half of the tomatoes and crumbled feta.

Fold one of the remaining pastry sheets to make a rough square shape and use t cover the layer of filling. Brush the pastry layer with butter. Now repeat the process using the remaining chicken, tomatoes and feta.

Get the leftover sauce from the chicken and add to the frying pan. Cook until reduced by one third.

Spoon over the chicken layer.

Take the remaining pastry sheets and fold them into a shape slightly larger than the dish and cover the top. Tuck the pastry edges down the sides then brush the top liberally with the rest of the butter. Using a very sharp knife, cut the top layers of pastry as neatly as possible into squares.

Bake for 30 minutes or until deep golden brown.

Meanwhile, make the syrup. Put the water into a small saucepan over a medium high heat, and when the water is boiling, add the sugar and dissolve it in the hot water. Add the orange zest and cayenne pepper, stir well, then simmer gently for 1-15 minutes, or until the mixture reduces to a syrup and can coat the back of a spoon.

When the baklava is cooked, remove it from the oven and immediately pour the syrup evenly over the top.

Scatter over the nigella seeds to garnish and leave for 15 minutes to absorb the syrup before serving.

To serve, either remove the whole baklave from the dish using a fish slice, transfer to a serving platter and cut it at the table, or cut our individual portions straight from the dish and serve with a green salad.

Serves 6

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