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Harissa Chicken in a baking tray with a tea towel

Harissa Chicken

  • Author: caroline
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2 1x

Description

This harissa chicken traybake is unbelievably flavoursome & super easy to make. Packed with chicken, potatoes & veg, it’s a perfectly balanced midweek meal.

The default recipe serves 2

Don’t be perturbed by the number of steps and instructions – it’s actually a really simple recipe with very little ‘hands-on’ time (most of the time required is spent hydrating the chillis for the paste or with the dish roasting in the oven)

Ingredients

Scale

For the harissa paste (alternatively use 2 tbsp ready-made paste)

This makes enough paste for the recipe, although I strongly recommend multiplying the ingredients and making a few portions! 

  • 1–4 dried chillis (see note 1 & 1)
  • 1 large garlic clove, crushed or grated
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp tomato puree (see note 3)
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
  • 1/2 tsp sweet paprika (see note 4)

For the traybake

  • 300g / 10oz new/baby potatoes, cut into halves, or quarters if they are large (see note 5)
  • 1 large red onion, ends cut off, skin removed and cut into quarters
  • 1 red pepper/capsicum, desseded and cut into large slices
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 4 chicken thighs, skin-on and bone-in (around 500g / 1.1lb) (see note 6)
  • 150g (around 10) cherry tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Equipment

Roasting tin or sheet pan – around 22cm x 28cm (9in x 11in) is a good size for 2 portions (the default recipe). This set of 2 available on Amazon is ideal. 

Instructions

To make the harissa paste:

  1. Use scissors to snip off the top of the chillis and tip out the seeds. (see note 7)
  2. Place the chillis in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 30 minutes.
  3. Drain the chillis and transfer around a third of them to a food processor/blender. 
  4. Add the remaining ingredients and season well with salt and pepper. Blitz until you have a smooth paste. Taste and add more chillis until you reach the heat you want.
  5. If you have made extra harissa paste then transfer to a sterilised jar with a lid (see note 8). Cover with a thin layer of olive oil between uses to prevent air from getting to the paste. Keep in the fridge for up to 1 month.

To make the traybake (start here if using ready-made harissa paste):

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
  2. Place the potatoes, onion and pepper into a deep baking tray and pour over the olive oil. Add 2 tsp harissa paste and mix everything together to coat. 
  3. Spoon 1 tsp of harissa paste on each chicken thigh and rub so it’s covered all over on both sides.
  4. Nestle the chicken in among the vegetable and potatoes and add a little salt and grate over some black pepper (see note 9). Place in the oven for 20 minutes.
  5. Remove the tray from the oven and add the cherry tomatoes. Shake gently and place back in the oven for 30 minutes.
  6. Scatter the parsley over the traybake and serve.

Notes

  1. Type of chillis – If you don’t have a wide selection available you can buy some generic dried chilli from Amazon. However, if you want to go the authentic route, and you can manage to get your hands on dried Baklouti peppers then this is the traditional pepper used in harissa. They are also quite large and fairly mild. An alternative to Baklouti is Mexican dried Guajillo chillis (available on Amazon) as they are also large and again, fairly mild.
  2. The reason for such a wide variation in the number of chillis needed is because there is such a broad spectrum of heat depending on which chillis you use. Around 2-3 works for me (using generic, small red chillis)
  3. In the UK you’ll need to look for tomato puree and in the US look for tomato paste – it’s the very thick tomato paste that you can buy in tubes or small pots that you need! 
  4. You can use smoked paprika instead – I just like the extra sweet notes that sweet paprika brings.
  5. If you don’t have new/baby potatoes then an all-purpose variety such as Desiree in the UK or Yukon gold potatoes will work well – as floury varieties (such as Maris Piper or Russet) may break apart in the tray. However, you can technically use any type of potato you like – just make sure to slice to around 2-3cm thick.
  6. I don’t recommend using chicken breast for this recipe as it will result in much drier meat. If you do want to use chicken breast however then add it for only the last 20 minutes of baking. If you use thighs that are skinless and boneless then also add these for just the last 20 minutes of cooking time to prevent them from overcooking.
  7. If you like things very hot then you can skip the step of tipping out the seeds (and I’m sure this suggestion will make many chefs shudder). However, the seeds hold most of the heat in chillis so this will make it a little more palatable for many. 
  8. To sterilise a jar first wash it really well with soapy water, including the lid. Then transfer the jar and lid to a warm oven to dry. You can also freeze the harissa for up to 3 months. Stir well to mix if it has separated when defrosted.
  9. If you have seasoned the harissa paste well then you may not need to add much seasoning.
  • Prep Time: 40 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: Tunisian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 605
  • Fat: 32g
  • Carbohydrates: 35g
  • Protein: 40g

Keywords: tunisian, north african, dinner, chicken, oven, traybake, easy, hot, spicy

Find it online: https://feed-your-sole.com/harissa-chicken/