Marinade Ingredients
Buttermilk — 200g
Onion, sliced — 100g
Salt — 15g
Lemon Juice — 15g
Lemon Zest — 1
Garlic, sliced — 10g
Peppercorn — 1g
Turmeric — 5 tsp
Saffron — 0.4g (1 pinch),
ground & bloomed in 1 small ice cube
Sauce Ingredients
Barberry, soaked and cleaned — 50g
Orange Juice — 35g
Sugar — 5g (1 tsp)
Salt — 2g (1/2 tsp)
Chicken Stock — 500g
Orange zest — 1
Rose water — 1g (1/4 tsp)
Onion — 50g
Turmeric — 1g (1/4 tsp)
How to make the Chicken Dish
- Combine the ingredients for the marinade. Marinate 2 to 4 chicken breasts in the mixture and keep them in a sealed container (or a ziplock bag) and refrigerate overnight. When ready to cook, take out of the marinade and pat dry with a paper towel.
- To make the sauce, in a pan, caramelize the onion (saute until golden brown) with 1 tbsp canola or grapeseed oil oil, a pinch of salt and turmeric (see table above). Add orange juice, chicken stock, salt, sugar, orange zest and rose water. Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. When the desired consistency is achieved, add the barbaries and turn off.
- Cook the chicken breasts using your preferred method. At Delara we use the charcoal barbeque to cook the breasts, but you can pan roast them and finish in the oven.
- Once the chicken is ready, let it rest for 5 minutes. Bring the sauce back to simmer. Cut the breasts into thin pieces, plate and cover in sauce.If the sauce is loose you can add a spoon of butter to make it more velvety.
- Serve the chicken with rice, your favorite roasted veggies, pickles and yogurt.
Bardia Illbeigi
Founder & Owner of Delara Restaurant
“Bardia Ilbeiggi was born and raised in Tehran, and moved to Canada at age 19 to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering in Ottawa, which he finished in 2008. He then worked at IBM for two and a half years, but after realizing he was more passionate about cooking than engineering, he decided to pursue it as a career. He moved to Paris for a year to train in classic French cooking at Gregoire Ferrandi culinary school and an internship at the restaurant Frenchie.
On moving back to Vancouver in 2012, Bardia spent 4 years at L’Abattoir restaurant in Gastown, which focused on classic techniques with Pacific Northwest ingredients. In 2016, he moved on to Farmer’s Apprentice restaurant, which had a focus on local and seasonal ingredients, and where he forged close relationships with farmers and producers throughout southwestern BC. In 2017, Bardia spent a month in Copenhagen working at Michelin-starred Relae.
In 2019, Bardia left Farmer’s to work toward opening his own restaurant. After a trip back to Iran, he decided to work on a concept closer to his roots and heart. While hosting a series of dinner and pop-up events in Vancouver, he developed his menu, which would marry the flavors and memories of his past with his modern training, techniques, and ingredients. In July 2021, Bardia opened his restaurant Delara in Vancouver, where he serves his take on Persian cuisine.”
