Upside Down Chicken & Aubergine Bulgar Wheat
Clock Image
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Maqluba is the Middle Eastern dish, meaning "upside down", that inspired this flipping great meal with high welfare chook from Peter and Sue's Devonshire farm.
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741 kcal
(per portion)
Ingredients you'll need
Recipe Ingredients Image
  • 1 shallot
  • 1 stick of celery
  • 1 lemon
  • A pack of chicken breast mini fillets
  • 1 aubergine
  • 2 red peppers
  • 1 onion
  • A handful of flat leaf parsley
  • A bag of bulgar wheat
  • A sachet of cardamom pods
  • ½ lettuce
From your kitchen
  • 500ml cold water
  • A couple of peppercorns and some freshly ground pepper
  • Sea salt
  • 2½ tbsp olive oil
You'll need
  • A couple of pans with lids
  • Measuring jug
  • Colander or sieve
  • Griddle or frying pan
  • Kitchen paper or salad spinner (optional)
Step by step this way
  • 1.

    Set your oven to its lowest setting. Peel and halve the shallot. Rinse, trim and chop the celery. Halve the lemon. Slice one half into quarters. Put the chicken, shallot, celery and two lemon quarters into a pan.

  • 2.

    Pour in 500ml water. Add a couple of peppercorns and a pinch of salt. Cover. Bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 10 mins. Drain, but keep the stock. Pop the chicken on a plate. Keep warm in the oven.

  • 3.

    Rinse and chop the aubergine into long slices about ½ cm thick. Rinse the peppers. Halve and scoop out the seeds and white bits. Slice. Peel and finely chop the onion. Finely chop the parsley stalks and leaves.

  • 4.

    Warm a griddle or frying pan. Brush the aubergine slices with 1 tbsp olive oil. Fry them for about 2 mins each side till they’re golden. Pop them on a plate. Keep them warm in the oven. Repeat with the peppers.

  • 5.

    Warm ½ tbsp oil in a pan. Add the onion and parsley stalks. Season. Fry for 5 mins. Stir in the bulgar wheat and cardamom. Pour in 300ml of the saved stock. Cover. Simmer on a low heat for 8 mins or till the stock’s absorbed.

  • 6.

    Tear the leaves off half the lettuce. Rinse and dry them. Juice the remaining half lemon. Whisk the juice with 1 tbsp olive oil and some seasoning. Use this to dress the lettuce. Lightly oil a large bowl.

  • 7.

    Tear the chicken into shreds with two forks. Add the chicken to the frying pan. Stir and fry for 3-4 mins so it just takes on a golden colour. Lay the chicken in the bottom of the bowl.

  • 8.

    Cover the chicken with the strips of cooked aubergine and pepper. Spoon in the bulgar wheat. Press down firmly. Let it stand for 2-3 mins, then turn over onto a plate to serve, sprinkled with the chopped parsley, and the lettuce.

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