Best Moroccan Harissa Roast Chicken Recipes

MOROCCAN RED HARISSA CHICKEN

Steps:

• Char the bell and chile peppers under a hot broiler until the skins are evenly blackened. Place in a bowl and cover to cool to handle. Wipe the charred skins away with paper towels and seed the peppers. Reserve for later use.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil. Sprinkle the chicken thighs with salt and pepper on both sides. Add the chicken to the hot oil and brown on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and reduce the heat a bit. Add the garlic, bay leaf, cinnamon, ginger, onions, paprika, cumin and some salt and pepper, and cook to soften a bit, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of vinegar.
• Place the peeled peppers in the bowl of a food processor with 1 cup of the stock, and process until pureed. Add the puree to the pan, thin with about 1/2 cup water and slide the chicken back into the pan. Reduce the heat to a simmer and finish cooking the chicken through. Turn off heat and cover until you serve.
• To serve, heat the remaining 1 1/2 cups stock (or 1 cup stock and 1/2 cup water) and the butter to a boil with the rice. Bring to a bubble, then reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer the rice for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let stand 5 to 10 minutes, then fluff with fork.
• In shallow bowls, top the rice with the chicken in spicy sauce, garnish with scallions before serving.
• Get Rachael's shopping list for this episode's recipes here.

ROASTED HARISSA CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place chicken breasts on prepared baking sheet.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the harissa and olive oil to make a smooth paste.
• Brush the chicken breasts with the harissa.
• Place the onion in the same bowl and toss with remaining harissa and add to the baking sheet.
• Salt and pepper the chicken and onions.
• Bake at 425°F for around 25 minutes depending on the size of your chicken breasts. Check with a meat thermometer - chicken is done at 165°F.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH HARISSA AND SCHMALTZ

Steps:

• Bring garlic, sugar, coriander seeds, 1 cup kosher salt, and 8 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Transfer to a large bowl and add 1 cup ice. Let cool. (You can also refrigerate or freeze brine if you want to speed things up.)
• While brine is cooling, bone chicken breasts, leaving leg and thigh quarters intact. Start by cutting off wing tips; discard. Place chicken, skin side down, on a cutting board. Working with 1 chicken half at a time, angle the blade of a thin, sharp knife flush against breast bone and cut along bone to separate the rib cage from flesh. The only bones remaining should be in the wing, thigh, and drumstick. Repeat on the other side (save bones for making your next pot of stock).
• Place chicken halves in cooled brine. Cover tightly and chill 12 hours.
• Transfer chicken to a rimmed baking sheet or baking pan and pick off coriander seeds. Spread harissa all over chicken. Cover tightly and chill at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
• Preheat oven to 400°F (if you have a convection oven, turn the convection fan on). Heat schmaltz in a large cast-iron pan over medium. Carefully place chicken halves, skin sides down, in pan, making sure all the skin is in the fat. Cook until skin darkens and starts to crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and roast chicken until skin is very dark and meat is more than halfway cooked through, 20-25 minutes.
• Remove skillet from oven and carefully turn chicken. Return to oven and roast, skin side up, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh registers 165°F, 8-12 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a large platter, placing skin side up. Drizzle some of the schmaltz over chicken and serve remaining schmaltz alongside.

ONE-POT HARISSA CHICKEN

Steps:

• Season the chicken breasts all over with the cumin and lots of ground black pepper. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and cook the chicken with the onion for 4 mins. Turn the chicken over and cook for a further 3 mins. Stir the onions around the chicken regularly as they cook.
• Tip the tomatoes and 250ml water into the pan and stir in the harissa, honey, courgettes and chickpeas. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 mins until the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened slightly.