I love serving this when I have friends over for dinner as the sweet-sour flavour is so delicious, yet it truly involves little more than putting all the ingredients in a roasting tin and popping it in the oven! It is based on the flavours of a fesenjan – a Persian dish flavoured with a pomegranate and walnut sauce that is often served at Rosh Hashanah because pomegranates are said to have as many seeds as there are positive commandments in the Bible that we should resolve to accomplish – 613, in case you were wondering! I like to serve this with a simple spinach salad scattered with slivers of date and orange segments.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Put the onion and aubergine in a bowl with the olive oil and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Add the bulgar wheat, orange zest and half the chopped parsley. Tip into a roasting dish, just big enough to hold the chicken pieces in a single layer.

Pour over the hot stock, then lay the chicken pieces over the top, skin-side up. Scatter the walnut pieces around and drizzle the pomegranate molasses all over the top.

Cover the dish with foil and cook for 30 minutes, then take the foil off and cook for a further 30 minutes. 

By this time the chicken should be cooked through and browned, and the bulgar tender. Serve garnished with the remaining parsley and the pomegranate seeds.