Chicken with aubergine and lemon.

• 4 chicken thighs, boneless for preference – but still with the skin on.
• 1 lemon, unwaxed and preferably organic.
• ½ aubergine
• New potatoes, gently scrubbed.  Cut any bigger ones in half.
• Salt

Serves 2.

1. Slice the aubergine and lemon fairly thinly.  Each slice about 3mm/1/8″ thick.
2. Pop any pips out of the lemon.
3. Put the aubergine slices over the bottom of a roasting tin – you may want to add a smear of olive oil to prevent the aubergine from sticking.  Then put a slice of lemon on top of each aubergine.  Put any lemon left over on the base of the tin.
4. Put the chicken thighs, skin side up, over the aubergine and lemon, opening them out if boneless.
5. Bung the potatoes in and sprinkle it all generously with salt.
6. Put into an oven, 200°C/400ºF/gas mark 6, uncovered, for up to 1 hour.
7. If possible, turn the potatoes over during the cooking.
8. Cook up some other veg.  Or serve with a salad.
9. Eat.

I am extremely fond of chicken and lemon.  I had half an aubergine looking a little sad in my fridge, so I decided to do this with it.  And I’m so glad I did.  The aubergine cooks down to a lovely soft mess, the lemon has that wonderful sharpness and the chicken plus its fat, unctious.   I didn’t turn my spuds, so they were a little dry, but in future I will, then they too will be melting.