This harissa chicken recipe was in the Food and Wine magazine issue for March 2020 and I just had to make it! I’m so glad I did because it is delicious!
Harissa is a North African hot chili pepper paste, the main ingredients of which are roasted red peppers, Baklouti peppers or serrano peppers, spices and herbs such as garlic paste, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, cumin and olive oil to carry the oil-soluble flavors.
I purchase it in a tube, however; I’ve seen it also in jars. Here’s a link to the brand and tube I buy. You can order it online or I am seeing it in grocery stores, like my local HEB now, so it is available in larger stores. https://amzn.to/2TGdxP8
so good. simple harissa chicken
Food and Wine Magazine had dried edible rose petals scattered over the finished chicken. i didn’t have any, but they made a beautiful presentation.
I wanted to serve these with something creamy to absorb the wonderful dishes. I thought about scalloped potatoes would be perfect and they were.
The potatoes were delicious. I used Yukon gold potatoes, sharp cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese and lot’s of thyme in this recipe. Oh, don’t forget the onions too. Here’s a link for the delicious potatoes. you won’t regret making them. https://the2spoons.com/easy-cheesy-scalloped-potatoes/
so good. simple harissa chicken
Here’s the recipe for the chicken. Enjoy!
Harissa Chicken
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 tbsp plus 2 tsp harissa paste, divided
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 2 tsp grated garlic
- 1 tbsp black pepper, divided
- 4 10 oz chicken leg quarters
- 2 large shallots, halved
- 1 garlic head, halved crosswise
- 1 small lemon, halved
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp paprika
Instructions
- Whisk together yogurt, lemon juice, 3 tablespoons harissa paste, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, thyme leaves, grated garlic, and 2 teaspoons pepper. Place chicken quarters in a large ziplock plastic bag. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken, and seal bag. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally.
- Preheat oven to 375°F with oven rack in upper third of oven. Let chicken stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Scatter shallots, garlic, and lemon halves, cut sides down, in a heavy-duty roasting pan or 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Add thyme sprigs. Remove chicken from marinade, allowing excess marinade to drip off. Discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken with remaining 2 teaspoons salt and remaining 1 teaspoon pepper; arrange chicken, skin sides up, in a single layer in roasting pan. Add 1/4 cup water to pan.
- Roast chicken in preheated oven until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion registers 140°F, 30 to 35 minutes. Turn broiler to high. Baste chicken with pan juices, and sprinkle chicken with paprika. Broil, basting chicken with pan juices every 2 to 3 minutes, until thermometer registers 165°F, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to a channeled cutting board; let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, squeeze 1 roasted lemon half and 6 roasted garlic cloves into pan juices; reserve remaining lemon half for serving and remaining garlic cloves for another use. Mash shallots and garlic with a fork. Pour pan juice mixture through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing to extract liquid; discard solids. Whisk in remaining 2 teaspoons harissa paste. Pour accumulated juices from cutting board into harissa mixture in bowl, and stir. Pour pan juice mixture onto a serving platter, and top with chicken. Serve immediately with reserved lemon half.