Baked Harissa Spiced Chicken

Prepared spice blends are an effortless way to add a ton of flavour to a meal. Like Chinese 5-Spice, Harissa Spice blends are slightly different depending on who is crafting them. But even with slight differences, any Harissa Spice blend will work for this recipe. If you want to make your meal prep even easier, feel free to use a premade paste.

Baked in just 50 minutes, this easy one pan meal is delicious on its own, but equally as good served over rice or potatoes.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 5

Optional, marinate chicken for 30 minutes to 4

Total Time 1 25

Course Dinner, Entree, Main Course

Cuisine Middle Eastern, North African

Servings people

Ingredients

1 whole chicken cut into 10 pieces or 8-10 chicken thighs, skin-on, bone-in
4 tablespoons harissa paste, see recipe below (or use store bought)
2 tablespoons smoked honey or honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice zest lemon first and reserve for garnish
2 tablespoons olive oil divided
2 large carrots peeled and cut into chunks
2 medium red onions cut into chunks
2 large celery stalks cut into chunks
1 can can of diced tomatoes (28-ounce)
½ lemon, cut into wedges
16 olives mixed or your favourite variety

For Garnish

2 tablespoons fresh parsley
Reserved lemon zest zest of one lemon

Harissa Paste

1 red bell pepper
2 tablespoons harissa spice blend
1 tablespoon paprika
1 clove garlic
1 -2 dried hot chilies* soaked in hot water for 10 minutes (Optional)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Harissa Paste

With a rack in the middle position of the oven, turn on the broiler. Use a knife to carefully put a couple of slits in the flesh of the red bell pepper, then place on a baking sheet and broil until the skin has blackened and the flesh is tender. Approximately 12-15 minutes, rotating the pepper every 3 minutes.
Once cooked place the pepper in a bowl and cover with a plate or plastic wrap. When the pepper is cool enough to manage, remove the skin and seeds.
In a food processor combine all the harissa paste ingredients and blend everything until it forms a thick paste. Yields: 4 – 5 tablespoons

Baked Harissa Spiced Chicken

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a bowl or food processor, mix the harissa paste, honey, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Set aside.
Add the tomatoes to a 5-Quart Sauté Pan. Sprinkle the carrots, onions, and celery over the sauce, then nestle the chicken in with the vegetables. Pour the harissa-honey mixture over the chicken, then brush to evenly cover the chicken. Nestle the lemon wedges beside the chicken and vegetables.
Bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes. Halfway through baking, spoon some of the liquid from the bottom of the dish over the chicken and scatter the olives throughout the pan. Begin checking to see if the chicken is done at 40 minutes. Internally temperature should be 163-165°F. When temperature is reached, turn the oven to broil and broil for 3 to 5 minutes until the skin of the chicken begins to brown.
Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the fresh parsley and lemon zest and serve.

Notes

Harissa Paste:

Choose chilies that suit your spice preference. I normally have Chile Pequin or Chile De Arbol on hand but for less heat try an Ancho Chile or Guajillo Chile

Baked Harissa Spiced Chicken:

To divide chicken into 10 pieces, separate the thighs from the drumsticks, cut each breast in half crossways and leave the wings whole. Ask your butcher to do this step.
If you have time, pour the harissa-honey mixture over the chicken pieces, and toss to coat. Marinate for 30 minutes to 4 hours.

Keyword chicken recipe, easy chicken recipe, Harissa, one pan meal, spicy chicken recipes

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