By Joan Nathan
- Total Time
- 1¾ hours, plus optional chilling
- Rating
- 4(338)
- Notes
- Read community notes
A version of this delicious Jewish-Middle Eastern chicken dish, adapted from Joan Nathan's cookbook "King Solomon's Table," dates to medieval times. You can make it in one day, but it's best to make the chicken a day ahead, then it refrigerate it overnight and remove the layer of fat that rises to the top. (If you choose to make it all in one day, you may want to use a fat separator to strain the sauce before serving.) For more heat, add a little hot paprika or cayenne.
Featured in: The Legend of King Solomon and the Passover Feast
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 6 to 8tablespoons sesame or olive oil
- 2medium eggplants (about 2 pounds)
- Sea salt, to taste
- 1large onion, chopped
- 2cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1whole chicken, 4 to 5 pounds, cut into 8 pieces
- 1teaspoon ground allspice
- ½teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1½cups chicken stock or water
- 1dried lime (optional, available at Middle Eastern groceries)
- 1bunch Swiss chard or spinach (about 1 pound), cleaned, trimmed and roughly chopped into 1- to 2-inch pieces (including stems)
- Juice of 1 lemon
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
542 calories; 39 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 20 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 1204 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat oven to 375 degrees and brush a baking sheet (or two, if needed) liberally with 3 tablespoons oil. Slice tops and bottoms off the eggplants, then slice into ½-inch-thick rounds and arrange on a single layer on baking sheet. Brush rounds generously with some of the oil, sprinkle with a little salt, then bake for 20 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool.
Step
2
Meanwhile, in a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a tightfitting lid, warm 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic until onions are soft and beginning to brown, reducing the heat as needed to avoid burning, about 15 minutes. Remove to a plate.
Step
3
Sprinkle chicken with salt, half the allspice and half the turmeric. Add chicken to pot in a single layer, working in batches if necessary, and brown on all sides, adding oil if needed and removing chicken when it's browned.
Step
4
Arrange eggplant slices on the bottom of the pot and cover with the onions and garlic. Add more salt, the remaining allspice and the remaining turmeric, then top with chicken, chicken stock or water and dried lime, if using. Bring to a simmer, then lower heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Cook for about 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through, then remove from heat and let cool before refrigerating overnight (see note).
Step
5
The next day, skim off and discard the layer of fat on the top of the stew. Add Swiss chard or spinach to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover tightly, reduce heat, and simmer slowly for about 15 minutes, or until chicken is heated through.
Step
6
Fish out the lime, if using, and discard. Arrange chicken on a platter surrounded by vegetables, serving sauce in a separate bowl. (Or serve the chicken, vegetables and sauce all together in a large bowl.) Squeeze lemon juice over everything and serve.
Tip
- You can make this dish the same day if you prefer, and skip overnight refrigeration, though you may need to use a fat separator to strain the sauce before serving.
Ratings
4
out of 5
338
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Cooking Notes
Alicia
If cannot find dried lime, would fresh lime peel work?
Stephanie
Some things I have read say that the spice Sumac is a good substitute for dried lime...that the taste is very similar. Sumac is easier to find than dried lime.
Heidi
Wondering why this is so high in calories and fat?
analogplanet
"Large" pot isn't sufficient descriptor. I used a "large" pot but (Le Crouset) but 1.5 cups liquid didn't come close to immersing chicken nor was it made clear if the liquid was supposed to cover the chicken.....
rita
the flavor was very good. not too highly spiced. nice and light. but the eggplant was a mushy, slimey blob. the swiss chard was worse than over-cooked greens. if I were to make this again, I will put eggplants on top of the chicken, then, the Swiss chard on top of them in the fimal step.
Susan Hinton
I needed to make this in 1 day, so I followed directions to separate & drain fat near the end. The result was, meh. Leftovers were kept, but the chard turned to goop overnight in the refrigerator. So I changed it up: I took the chicken off the bone, chopped it & added it back to the goop along with curry powder and a pinch of cayenne. Then I cooked pasta and spooned the heated goop over the pasta. This was a HUGE hit and my family wants me to make more. (Go figure. I liked it, too.)
Arman
Where in the country do you live? If you have a Middle Eastern or Persian grocery store near you, those should have dried limes. I know of a number of them in Southern CA. Based on my use of dried lime in the past, I do not think that fresh lime peel would provide the same flavor.
HF
Seems like rice would go well, but if you are serving this at Passover, many traditional Ashkenazi Jews will not eat rice (or beans) during Passover, although rabbinical rulings are changing, but tradition, tradition .... Tradition!
Hoss
It is important to slightly crack the dried lime before adding it to the pot. Otherwise you do not get the intended flavor from it. If you do not have a Persian, or a middle eastern grocery store nearby, you could buy dried lime on line from Sadaf.
Anne
Even Sahadi's in Brooklyn doesn't have dried lime. How much sumac to substitute?
MaryBretired
Eggplant turned to mush and disappeared. Next time I'll put the chicken on the bottom and wait to add the eggplant. The flavors were great. Used bone in, skin on chicken thighs and did not have an excess of fat that needed to be removed but they needed more than 30 minutes to cook. Used chopped kale and I should have par boiled it to remove some of the strong flavor as it was a bit much. Served with Quinoa with some onion, garlic, celery and herbs for flavor.
Micki
Good, almost great. Used boneless, skinless chicken breast, dried lime peel and frozen chopped spinach. Eggplant cooks down so much. Really pretty good!
David
bland and mushy. Not much spice to it. The eggplant and chard turn out too mushy. Agree with other review that says to put on top of the chicken. Perhaps cook the chard first to get rid of most of the moisture. It was all just a big pot of soupy mush
lkrum
This was surprisingly good. I used kale and spinach as that is what I had on hand. Also used chicken thighs for the same reason. Pulled the meat off the bones and discarded skin. I did cook the eggplant on top of the chicken as suggested. Served over rice. A solid 4 stars.
Scott
It's ok on texture but sort of just blah - bland, beyond the usual chickeny taste of chicken poached in broth. Is it possible the allspice measurement is low? Anyway the whole thing lacks deliciousness for the effort involved. There are tastier ways to stew a chicken with greens and eggplant.
sue
can I prepare this without the chicken? Obviously, not as much flavor.
Riv
One of the best and easiest chickens I've ever made. Huge hit for my passover seder
Alice Faber
I measured out 6 oz of oil to work with and despite generously brushing the eggplant and using plenty of oil for the onions, I had about a third of it left over.
Rachelle
Loved the unusual spice combination of allspice and tumeric, and how it worked with the eggplant and the chard flavours. But I was not a fan of the boiled chicken texture, and the eggplant was pretty much melted into the sauce. I may try making this again with chicken stock only, with fried/baked chicken on the side.
Laurie
Will try broiling skinless chicken briefly instead of browning to cut down on fat. Used three one pound eggplants. Used sumac instead of dried lime. Great use of one pound of garden chard!
betsy
Some things I have read say that the spice Sumac is a good substitute for dried lime...that the taste is very similar. Sumac is easier to find than dried lime.
charlotte
Black lime, dried lime, Omani lime --- all the same. Oaktown Spice (and likely other spice or Middle Eastern stores) carries an Omani lime powder.
Dana
I've made this dish several times and it's always a huge hit. I often use spinach instead of swiss chard just because I always have it on hand. I finely chop just enough for that evening's serving and put it in after I've put the chicken on a serving platter (rather than in the stew itself) so it' not total mush the next day for leftovers.
murielp
I used a couple of kaffir lime leaves instead of the dry lime and it worked well. I used skinned chicken thighs to minimize the fat content and cooked it all in one go. As mentioned by others, it was very well cooked but also very flavorful and was perfect with plain rice.
Susan Hinton
I needed to make this in 1 day, so I followed directions to separate & drain fat near the end. The result was, meh. Leftovers were kept, but the chard turned to goop overnight in the refrigerator. So I changed it up: I took the chicken off the bone, chopped it & added it back to the goop along with curry powder and a pinch of cayenne. Then I cooked pasta and spooned the heated goop over the pasta. This was a HUGE hit and my family wants me to make more. (Go figure. I liked it, too.)
Renay
Dried and crushed limes can be found on Amazon or at Everfresh in Great Neck, NY.
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