winner winner chicken dinner: roasted chicken with harissa chickpeas

roasted chicken with harissa chickpeas | everybody likes sandwiches

I made this dish back in early summer when the weather was hot, but not too hot, that turning on the stove seemed like No Big Deal. Then, as luck would have it, this west coast summer turned HOTTT and making salads as dinner became de rigueur. Now that it’s already late August (whoever called it the King of Months is a big fat liar), the weather has become a bit cooler, so turning on the oven is a happening thing once again. Thank goodness because this dish is a winner.

roasted chicken with harissa chickpeas | everybody likes sandwiches

I used chicken thighs but legs would be good here too. I’d skip the breast meat and save that for another kind of dish – breast meat has no place here. Bone-in and dark meat are a must, I think. The chicken thighs, along with the chickpeas get bathed in a sauce full of flavour. And that flavour is harissa, a spice that I’ve never really used before, but I have more plans for it because I liked it so much here.

roasted chicken with harissa chickpeas | everybody likes sandwiches

Harissa is an African spice blend with an earthy flavour and a bit of a kick. Mine came in a tiny glass jar from a fancy food shop, but you can find it in tubes and cans too! It’s heady with cumin (at least my version was) for that earthiness and an assortment of hot peppers. My version wasn’t super spicy but I’d advise in giving it a taste before you add it all in. To add some much needed brightness to this dish, some lemon gets squeezed overtop before serving.

roasted chicken with harissa chickpeas | everybody likes sandwiches

Please give this dish a try! Have you used harissa before? If so, please comment and include a favourite recipe as I’d love to expand my harissa horizons.

roasted chicken with harissa chickpeas | everybody likes sandwiches

13 comments to “winner winner chicken dinner: roasted chicken with harissa chickpeas”

  1. 1
    Ordinary Blogger   August 24, 2014 at 5:03 am

    I just bought Harissa paste and didn’t know what I was going to do with it. This looks marvelous and I think may solve my Harissa paste problem! Thanks!

  2. 2
    Caz   August 24, 2014 at 5:50 am

    This looks like a wonderfully warming dish as the temperature starts to drop. It’s getting chilly in the UK too. I haven’t cooked with harissa that much myself but my husband went through a phase of putting it on everything he grilled and it was delicious. I need to give it another try.

  3. 3
    toby   August 24, 2014 at 8:41 am

    My husband frequently makes Ottolenghi’s recipe for shakshuka (in the cookbook Jerusalem) which includes harissa as an ingredient. That cookbook even has a recipe to make your own harissa.

  4. 4
    Ryan   August 24, 2014 at 9:33 am

    This sounds fantastic. Harissa is great! Thanks for the awesome recipe; I’m going to have to try it sometime.

  5. 5
    cheri   August 24, 2014 at 9:56 am

    What a wonderful dish, love harissa…..it is such a flavorful spice.

  6. 6
    JoanneM   August 24, 2014 at 5:04 pm

    Oh yes! I’m so glad you made this. (I have pinned the recipe on Pinterest.) Everything about this dish screams “eat me!” It looks delicious!!! I have a powdered from of harissa that I found in Athens, GR on my last trip, but I have also used a paste version in a tube in the past. My first foray with using harissa was making a Moroccan chickpea stew with root veggies like carrots and sweet potato, and adding a motley of warming spices like, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, cayenne and harissa. Just perfect for a cold, rainy day in the fall.

  7. 7
    Kim   August 25, 2014 at 7:35 am

    This carrot saladh ttp://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/05/carrot-salad-with-harissa-feta-and-mint/ is amazing..I hope you try it!
    Thank you for the reci it looks delicious and is on our menu for dinner later this week…looking forward to it!

  8. 8
    kickpleat   August 25, 2014 at 11:17 am

    Ha, OB, looks like your harissa problem is now solved 🙂

    Caz, I’m going to try grilling with it. Great tip!!

    Toby, I’ve had that recipe bookmarked for ages. I guess now is the time to try it! Thanks 🙂

    Thanks Ryan & Cheri!

    It’s a total “eat me” dish, Joanne, I’m sure you’ll love it. Like the idea of adding to a vegetable stew. I did try making just a veggie version of this dish, but it didn’t turn out as good without the chicken. Maybe adding other spices is key!!

    Kim, yes, I’ve bookmarked that recipe. Thanks for the reminder! Hope you love this dish as much as we did.

  9. 9
    Kate   August 27, 2014 at 1:44 pm

    I bought my first jar when I encountered this egg dish: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/04/harissa-eggs-in-purgatory.html

    Really delicious.

    Since then, I’ve mixed it into tomato sauces often. Thanks for adding another reason for me to own the jar!

  10. 10
    JoanneM   August 28, 2014 at 9:53 pm

    kickpleat, Maybe if you make the veggie stew thick and tomatoey and add more spices, you won’t miss having the chicken.

  11. 11
    kickpleat   August 29, 2014 at 12:31 pm

    Thanks Kate, I’ll definitely be trying eggs & harissa soon!

    Yes, JoanneM, I think it needed more spice and more vegetables. My pantry was bare at the time so it wasn’t the most successful experiment!

  12. 12
    Caterina   September 22, 2014 at 5:19 am

    I made this on the weekend and added some swiss chard and tomato puree instead of the chicken stock – AMAZING! Served it over rice – perfect fall chicken dish.

  13. 13
    kickpleat   September 23, 2014 at 1:45 pm

    Caterina, so glad you enjoyed this!!

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