Salina chicken

Celebrating the flavours of the island of Salina, inspired me to the beautiful bounty growing in back garden and create this dish, perfect for a feast. Sumptuous, comforting, melt-in-your-mouth chicken, gentle spice and delicious, buttery aubergines. With a glass of cold white wine, it’s pure joy.

Serve 6

Cook in 2 hours

Ingredients

3 aubergines , (750g total)

1 x 1.4 kg whole free-range chicken , jointed (ask your butcher)

olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

3 small fresh red chillies

1 cinnamon stick

4 sprigs of fresh woody herbs , such as rosemary, thyme, bay

50 g baby capers in brine

2 red onions

200 g ripe cherry tomatoes

50 g pine nuts

2 lemons

4 sprigs of fresh basil

Method

• Trim the aubergines, chop into random 5cm chunks and wedges, place in a large bowl and season generously from a height with sea salt. Put aside.
• Drizzle all the chicken pieces with oil, place in a large shallow pan on a medium-high heat, skin side down, to get golden on all sides, then remove to a large platter. Wipe the salt off the aubergines and add to the pan, turning until lightly golden on all sides. Remove the aubergines to the platter and reduce the heat under the pan to low. Peel and slice the garlic, prick the chillies and place both in the pan with the cinnamon, woody herbs and capers. Stir and fry for a couple of minutes while you peel and finely slice the onions, then stir them into the pan, too. Cook for 15 minutes, or until starting to caramelize, stirring occasionally.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Squeeze the tomatoes in a bowl of water to remove the seeds – a fine nonna trick to prevent you getting splattered – then tear them into the pan. Put the chicken and aubergines back in, drizzle over any resting juices, then pour in 600ml of water. Sprinkle over the pine nuts, then squeeze over the lemon juice. Cook at the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes, or until golden. Pick over the basil leaves and serve with a nice big bowl of lemony couscous.