Food That Moves You: Shane Delia

Just like cars, food is a big passion for many and evokes emotions, memories and feelings which we can all relate to. In this episode, we take a trip to Prahran Market with chef Shane Delia as he creates a fresh dish from local produce inspired by his Mercedes-Benz GLC63 AMG.

You can make this tasty dish at home, here is what you need. Serves 8 people.

A good pinch of saffron
1kg boneless, skinless chicken thighs, each cut into six pieces
1 small brown onion, diced
2 tbsp ground coriander
2 cinnamon quills
1 tbsp turmeric powder
2 star anise
1 tbsp honey
2 litres chicken stock
1.5 tbsp Aleppo pepper
Lemon juice, to taste
Salt, to taste

100 grams potato starch
10 grams turmeric powder
4 grams salt
Ghee, to fry chicken

1. In a small pot, steep the saffron with 100ml water and bring to a simmer.
2. In a shallow pan, dust chicken thigh pieces with flour and shallow fry in ghee until golden but still raw in centre. Set aside.
3. In the same shallow chicken pan, add onion and saute until it is translucent but not brown. Add coriander, cinnamon, star anise and turmeric. Cook for two minutes then add honey. Allow to caramelise, then add chicken stock, saffron water and bring back to the boil. Season with Aleppo pepper, lemon juice and salt.
4. Return to the boil and add chicken back in and allow to finish cooking. Once chicken is cooked, remove it and set aside, then reduce sauce for 15 minutes.
5. Remove hard spices then blitz sauce in Thermomix until smooth.

250 grams chicken mince
12 grams toum (garlic sauce)
5 grams flaked salt
90 grams fine, dark bulgur, soaked

6. Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and knead well to ensure bulgur is combined well with chicken mince. Form 40 grams chicken balls and keep mix in an airtight container until required.

200 grams chicken thigh from the tagine, diced small
100 grams reduced tagine sauce
20 grams pine nuts
5 grams coriander leaves, finely sliced
2 grams parsley leaves, finely sliced
2 grams salt
1 gram Aleppo pepper

7. Mix all filling ingredients.
8. To assemble kibbeh, moisten hands and take one 40 grams chicken ball in your hand and make a big dent in it, large enough to place a teaspoon of the kibbeh filling. Once it’s placed, carefully encase the kibbeh by rolling it into a ball. Continue until 12 kibbeh have been formed. Place them on a tray and keep in the fridge until required.

1/2 sujuk (Turkish beef sausage)
Olive oil, to cook
200 grams soaked and cooked chickpeas (or use tinned)
Tagine sauce
2 Lebanese eggplants, cut into rounds and fried until golden
20 grams whole, blanched almonds, roasted and chopped
50 grams Iranian white figs, rehydrated in water and halved
30 grams unsalted butter
Aleppo pepper, if required
lemon juice, if required
salt
¼ bunch coriander, washed and picked

9. Finely dice the sujuk and place in a dehydrator or oven at 65°c overnight, or until dry and crisp. Once dry, place in a Thermomix or spice blender and pulse to create a crumb. Keep in an airtight container until required.
10. Place a large pan on a high heat, drizzle in olive oil and carefully place the chicken kibbeh balls, constantly moving them to allow them to brown on all sides. Once golden remove the balls from the pan and keep on a tray until required.
11. In the same pan, add chickpeas and quickly saute, then add the chicken tagine sauce and allow to come to the boil.
12. Once boiling, turn to low/medium heat, add chicken kibbeh balls, eggplant, almonds, figs and butter. Stir well, taste and season with more Aleppo pepper, lemon juice and salt, as desired.
13. Serve in a large bowl, garnished with coriander leaves and a large sprinkle of sujuk crumb.

You can find more info on Shane's restaurants Maha, Maha East and Biggie Smalls here.