Broiling is a method of cooking that many of us tend to avoid, despite the fact it’s easy to use and can produce quick and tasty dishes, with grill-like flavor, in any ordinary kitchen.
Maybe this reluctance is due to the fact that, while in grilling the direct heat comes from beneath the cooked item, in broiling the heat comes from above. However, once one gets used to that, broiling becomes another cooking method used often. It is the perfect quick method for preparing small chicken cuts, fish, and for roasting vegetables.
In the recipes here, I’ve chosen this cooking method for both preparing eggplant salads, and for boneless chicken thighs. Obviously, each dish can be prepared and served on its own, but combing them together is very flavorful and highly recommended. Try it and enjoy.
Notes:
* If you don’t have the broiler option in your oven, you can prepare the dishes in a preheated 425F (220C) oven instead. Roasting time for the eggplants will take about 10-15 minutes longer. Another option for the chicken is to prepare it in a grilling pan.
* Don’t skip the step of piercing the eggplants, as otherwise they can explode while broiling.
* Sumac, a reddish Middle-Eastern spice, can be found in specialty stores or online. As it adds a subtle acidity to the meat, if you can’t find it, substitute with 1 tsp of lemon juice.
Makes: 4
Prep time: Eggplants: 20 minutes; Chicken: 10 minutes
Cooking time: Eggplants: 15 minutes; Chicken: 10-15 minutes
Ingredients:
For the eggplant-pepper salad:
2 large eggplants
1 Tbs olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 cups chopped mini peppers
¼ jalapeno, chopped
1 tsp salt
¼ cup chopped cilantro
½ tsp cumin powder
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
For the eggplant-Tahini salad:
1 large eggplant
3 Tbs tahini paste
3 Tbs water
1 Tbs lemon juice
½ tsp salt
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
For the chicken:
2 Lbs (900 grams) boneless, skinless, chicken thighs
½ tsp each: sweet and hot paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and turmeric powder
2 tsp sumac powder (see notes)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil
1. The eggplants: preheat the broiler. Place the eggplants in a deep pan, and prick them in a few places with a toothpick (this is important, as otherwise the eggplants can explode while broiling…). Place under the broiler. Broil, turning occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until the skin blackens and breaks. Let cool a bit before removing the charred skin.
2. Eggplants-peppers salad: mix the olive oil and garlic in a medium flat pot and fry for a minute over medium-high heat. Add the chopped peppers, jalapeno and salt. Mix and fry for 2-3 minutes, until the peppers soften. Take off the heat and let cool a bit before adding the cilantro. Add two of the prepared eggplants, lemon juice and cumin, and mix. Place back on a medium-high heat and cook, mixing occasionally, for 2 minutes, until most of the liquids evaporate. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Bring to room temperature before serving.
3. Eggplant-tahini salad: mix the tahini with the water, lemon juice and salt (at first it will look as if separated, but keep on whisking, to form a smooth paste). Add the garlic and parsley and mix well. Add the paste to one the prepared eggplants. Mix well, taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
4. The chicken: place the chicken in a bowl and add the spices, salt and oil. Mix to coat with the spices, cover and keep at room temperature for 15 minutes. Arrange the the thighs in a flat pan, in one layer. Place under the broiler and broil for 10-15 minutes, turning the thighs twice and rotating the pan, until the chicken is done. Slice and serve with the eggplant salads.
Lovely recipe 😊
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Thank you Sophie! 🙂
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😀😀😀😀😀😊😊😊
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Looks awesome and tasty 🙂
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Thank you Priyabrataa. 🙂
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Boneless thighs are the bomb! Much juicier than breast meat. Probably not as good for Chicken Kiev, or other pounded and rolled variation, but very delightful on their own.
I think grilling is eschewed in kitchens because of the spattery-ness of it. I can do small amounts in my Cuisinart Oven Central, but that is with the top down, confining the mess. The result is not quite as good as open-air broiling, but perfectly reasonable. When roasting red peppers (coming up tomorrow), I just go ahead and fire up the big oven and slam it into high gear, changing out the pans o’ pepper halves as they finish. Reds, yellows, oranges are all on sale for 3/$.99 this week.
I’ve watched videos of the new $400. Breville Toaster Oven DEEEE-luxe and lust in my heart, but know for sure that some of the things they show being roasted/broiled in there would require as long to clean up after as doing the cooking/baking itself. Roasting a 14-pound turkey in a toaster oven, no matter how large it is, for several hours, is going to make a tremendous mess.
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Hmmm not sure how to address this, as the whole point of this post was to show you don’t need much more than the broiler option in your oven… Thanks for the info though. 🙂
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Right – in the regular oven! I was railing about the tiny cavities of a toaster oven.
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This all looks so tasty! I only ever tend to broil when I’m melting cheese on a casserole or something.
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Thank you Kathryn, I’m glad you liked the recipe. I too didn’t always use the broiler for more than charring or melting something, but now I use if often to actually cook things quickly.
Hope all is well with your truck! 🙂
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It’s going great Ronit, thank you!
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I’m so in the mood for this now. Looks so good.
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Thank you Myra, glad you liked the dish.
Could be nice if we could exchange some portions of our foods today! 🙂
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Yes 😃😃 that would have been great
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Interesting! Combining Eggplant with chicken. We roast eggplant over direct fire i.e. on gas flame. We make lots of dishes with roasted eggplant.
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Thank you Reena, I’m glad you liked the recipe. I used to roast the eggplant the same way, but it’s quite messy, so this method works better for me. 🙂
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Lovely dish Chef Ronit-I too use the boil/broiler methods often and it does work wonderfully.
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Thank you Chery, glad to find another broiling fan! It is indeed such a great quick method. 🙂
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It looks so delicious!
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Thank you Aletta. 🙂
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You are right as I hardly use the broil part of my oven except for an occasional steak, to toast bread or broil cheese. Love the salads – I haven’t used eggplant in awhile 🙂 I’ve been waiting for my bananas to ripen so I can make the lavender cake – I had to buy green ones at the market and they are taking forever!
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Thank you Judi, I’m glad you liked the recipes. I too didn’t use the broiler too often, but lately I’m using it a lot for such dishes.
Bananas can be quite annoying this way. When you want them to ripen quick then never do, but when you have no plans on using them in baking, they all turn ripe in no time! 🙂
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Love the ingredients, Ronit, especially eggplant. I’ll have to look up broilers.
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Thank you Mary, glad you liked the recipes. I’m a big eggplant fan, so use them often. The broiler is perfect for roasting them with minimal mess. Highly recommended. 🙂
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PS 220 C is pretty high. It would dry things out, wouldn’t it?
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No, it will roast them very quickly, so they won’t have much time to dry! 🙂
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Sounds interesting ✌✌ looks too good✌✌
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Thank you Jyo, I’m glad you liked the recipes. 🙂
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You know, I don’t love eggplant, but these photos have me scratching my head as to why – looks delectable!
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lol That’s a great compliment!
And maybe it’s a sign you need to try eggplants made this way? 😀
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Yes, I think so! 🙂
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For us in the U.K., grilling means heat from above, using the heat element at the top of the oven; we don’t use the term broiling. So I grill/broil chicken all the time, it’s how I always cook marinated chicken for my boys. And of course, I love the aubergine salads 🙂
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Thank you Elaine, this is very interesting! I guess it is because in the US “grilling” refers mostly to bbq type of preparation, so there was a need to differentiate.
Glad you liked the salads. I make them often. So good! 🙂
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The salads are my kind of daily dish as you know!
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🙂
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I had to learn what broiling meant when I first joined blog world!
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We learn so much from blogging! 🙂
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We definitely do!
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This looks like a wonderful dish!
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Thank you Diane! 🙂
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It’s funny but I can find boneless thighs (far too lazy to debone them myself, I guess) here in the Twin Cities but not in South Dakota where I was caring for the folks. This recipe looks glorious! I’m a little iffy about eggplant sometimes but yours looks wonderful. And that photo! I feel like I could reach right in and snitch a bit of that chicken before dinner…:)
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Thank you Mollie, I’m glad you liked the recipe and photos. I used to debone chicken thighs, but if I can get them boneless, I definitely prefer it.
I think you’ll find that the process of boiling or grilling eggplants does wonder to their flavor and texture. It’s worth trying! 🙂
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Looks scrumptious! Egg plant, tahini, chicken…. Who could resist???
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Thank you! It is one of my favorite combinations too. So tasty. 🙂
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Usually the only work my broiler gets is toasting bread or roasting red peppers! This boneless chicken recipe sounds like something I could try. Looks like a wonderful meal!
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Thank you Marisa. Yes, it took a while for me too, to discover the other benefits of broiling, but now I use it often, for quick dishes of chicken or fish such as this one. Well worth trying! 🙂
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This looks delightful. I’m going to have to try broiling chicken. I grill chicken outside in the summer, but I never would have thought of broiling chicken thighs.
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Thank you Sheryl, I’m glad you liked the recipe. I’ve found that broiling is so much easier, and so less messy than grilling, especially with relatively small amounts of chicken or fish. I hope you’l enjoy this method too. Just note that I’ve used boneless chicken thighs. This method is not suitable for bone-in thighs. 🙂
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Thanks for pointing out that boneless thighs should be used. As you guessed, I hadn’t carefully read the recipe–and could have easily used ones that still had the bones.
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Good save! 🙂
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‘Didn’t know the difference between broiling and grilling before, Chef. Thanks for the information. I think back home people say “broil” when they actually mean grill, and here in the UK people say “under the grill” instead of broil!
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Glad to be of help. It’s so interesting to learn how it’s used in different places. 🙂
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