This is another great chicken dish that never disappoints whether you use storbought harissa or the delicious homemade recipe for harrissa you are in for a very flavourful and delicious chicken dish. Smokey, spicy with a hint of sweetness a wonderful combo of flavors. Serve with the saffron Israeli or pearled couscous if desired and a simple salad and you have a perfect simple to make weeknight dinner. The pan juices are so good I would even recommend some crusty bread to sop up every drop of them! This recipe comes from one of my favourite books this past year Eat Habibi Eat by Shahir Massoud. More about the book and all about harissa and this wonderful recipe below!!
The Israeli couscous in Shahir’s recipe is prepared with a tasty saffron butter that is worth the effort making – like any compound butter it can be made ahead and used to finish of pasta, over meats or in mashed potatoes to add some colour and richness to anything you add it to. The homemade harissa is worth all the effort as well. I have made the recipe with the homemade version and with a store bought harissa and both are fantastic. Homemade is always a great option if you have the time because you can control the amount of heat and spice in each batch. This harissa marinade makes an everyday cut of meat more interesting by introducing heat, sweetness, and a bold color as well! It’s def a must try!
What is harissa?
Harissa is a hot Chile paste or sauce that is commonly found in North African cuisine, predominantly found in recipes from Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia . Their are very many variations out there Recipes vary among different countries, but most versions of this spicy paste include a blend of hot chile peppers, garlic, olive oil, and spices, including caraway, cumin, coriander, and mint. It is perfect in soups, stews, as a condiment for sandwiches or for meats and makes a wonderful marinade too for grilled harissa chicken or fish as well.
More About Shahir and The Book
Shahir Massoud is a chef and television personality, best known as a cohost of the CBC Television daytime talk show The Goods. He is Canadian and a fellow Torontonian with Egyptian roots. He started out in business – accounting more specifically until he realized his true passion – cooking! Making this into a career came with hard work and having to tell his parents – something I felt I could partially relate to doing leaving dental hygiene (steady well paying always in demand work) to blogging and food styling and food photography, something that still puzzles my parents – you get paid for that? how do you get paid for what you do? is it sustainable? – commonly asked by family and friends. Anyways, Shahir met with loads of experience and success in and out of the kitchen and now he has this amazing book Eat Habibi Eat – Habibi meaning “my darling” – an endearing warm term that really showcases the theme of the book. The book is full of fresh recipes for modern Egyptian cooking – authentic? yes! But as he says “not in the way you might expect”, but they are authentic to him and his upbringing and all his culinary experiences adding twists of flavours to traditional dishes. This is a beautiful book – styling, propping, photography – perfection. Recipes easy to follow and there are so many I can’t wait to try – Crispy Cauliflower and Turmeric Bites, Spinach and Kale Mulukhiyah with Crisped and Spiced Rabbit, Chickpea and Tomato Halabissa Soup, Potato salad with Beluga Lentils and Labneh, Arabic Coffee And Coriander Beef Ribs with Pomegranate Barbecue Sauce, Baked Sumac Wings With Parsley Hot Butter and Feter with Wildflower Honey and Cinnamon just to name a few. His Book is split up into 7 categories which suit the book well: In The Morning, Apps and Snacks, Soups and Sandwiches, Salads and Sides, Main Plates, Sweets to Finish, and Essentials which includes sauces, condiments etc. Over 100 recipes that combine Shahir’s family heritage meals with his French and Italian chef training. I want to make every single recipe in the book and I think you might feel the same way whether you have a natural affinity towards Middle Eastern cuisine (like me) or aren’t too familiar with it. Grab a copy of the book here – and in the meantime get a taste for one of his dishes by making this harissa chicken! Thanks to Shahir and Appetite By Random House for sending me a copy of the book!
Harissa Chicken Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken: this recipe calls for chicken things but feel to use chicken breasts as well you just need to cook the chicken longer depending on size and thickness – chicken must reach 165°F (74°C) on an instant read thermometer
- Harrisa: feel free to use storebought harissa paste or harissa sauce or homemade. For this homemade version you will need red chilies, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, tomato paste and lemon juice
- Garlic: Use as little or as much as you would like
- Brown Sugar: for a hint of sweetness and I strongly recommend adding it
- Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil is what I use
- Chicken Stock: to help deglaze the pan – if using a storebought harissa sauce reduce the amount by half as you wont need as much
How To Make Harissa Chicken
- MAKE the HARISSA sauce – skip if using store bought
- MARINATE Chicken with the sauce
- Remove chicken from marinade and PAT chicken reserving marinade
- SEAR chicken and remove from skillet onto a plate and set aside
- DEGLAZE pan with chicken stock, Add the reserved marinade and bring to a boil.
- PLACE chicken back into skillet
- TRANSFER skillet into preheated oven and bake until cooked through and deeply golden with some charred edges
- SERVE with saffron couscous or any side you desire
Make Ahead & Storage
- If you are making the harissa paste feel free to make it ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. It can also be frozen for up to 1 month – thaw in the fridge or at room temperature before using
- Feel free to marinate the chicken with the harissa paste a day ahead and store in and airtight container in the fridge.
- Leftover chicken and couscous can be stored in and airtight container in the fridge for up 3-4 days. Reheat leftovers stovetop, in the oven or in the microwave.
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For the chicken
Marinate Chicken: In a large mixing bowl or ziplock bag combine the harissa, olive oil, garlic, brown sugar, and ¼ cup water. Add the chicken and toss well to coat, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or even marinate overnight.
