Easy Baked Harissa Chicken Recipe

Recipe developer Jessica Morone tells us that she really enjoys Middle Eastern cooking, enthusing, "I can't get enough of all the spices and flavors used in it." One of these seasonings is harissa, which is a condiment that comes from the North African country of Tunisia (so technically not the Middle East, although it is popular in this region as well). Harissa paste is usually made of dried red chile peppers ground up with garlic, citrus, olive oil, and spices which may include caraway, coriander, and cumin. While you can make your own harissa paste, here, Morone is going with the storebought kind. As she says of this condiment, "I just love its spicy, smoky flavor."

Morone tells us that this harissa chicken recipe is really pretty easy to make. In fact, she sums it up for us in a single sentence: "You just mix up a quick marinade, let the chicken sit in it for a half hour, and then bake it." Even with the time out for marinating, you can have this chicken dish on the table in just over an hour and the actual hands-on work involved is minimal. The combination of sweet, spicy, and tangy tastes, however, results in a maximum level of flavor.

Morone makes this dish with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. For the marinade, she uses harissa paste, honey, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the harissa paste, honey, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Add the chicken thighs to a large bowl. Pour the harissa mixture over the chicken, coating the pieces. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Arrange the chicken thighs in a single layer in a cast iron skillet or baking pan. Pour any remaining marinade on top of the chicken pieces.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into a thigh reads 165 F.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired, then serve hot.

As this chicken dish is pretty easy to prepare and doesn't take that much time to make, Morone tells us, "It's a great weeknight meal." While she also feels that it "goes with pretty much everything," she says she likes to serve it with couscous, calling this side, "one of my favorite things in general." You could also serve it with rice or potatoes if you wish, plus any vegetables you have on hand.

As for the leftovers, Morone advises, "You should also slice up this chicken and serve it on top of a salad or a grain bowl." Another idea would be to chop it up and make it into a kind of spicy chicken salad, perhaps something along the lines of a Middle Eastern (or North African) spin on the curry-seasoned coronation chicken that was invented to mark the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II's ascent to the throne.

This dish makes 4 servings, assuming each person consumes 8 ounces of chicken, so it's likely you will have leftovers if you're dining solo. Morone says that the leftover chicken should be good for 3 days in the refrigerator if kept in an airtight container such as a ziplock-type bag or a lidded storage tub. You could separate the chicken into serving portions if you want to be efficient, although Morone admits, "I just keep all the leftovers together."

If you won't be eating all of the chicken in just 3 days' time, you can, of course, freeze it for a much longer time. Morone suggests that it can be frozen for 3 months, but you don't need to throw it out if you leave it in a bit longer. As the USDA points out, any such limitations on freezing times refer only to possible degradation in food quality after the elapsed time. As they assure us, frozen meats and other foods will stay edible forever, or at least as long as the freezer is able to maintain a temperature of 0 F.