Spice up your life: Honey Harissa Glazed Chicken
I love a good chicken dinner. And this recipe hits all the fun notes: smoky, sweet, and a touch of spicy! The star ingredient is harissa, which is a hot chili pepper paste native to the Maghreb region. I bought a tub on my last trip to Tunisia and wanted to find a way to integrate it in an easy way. This is it! If you want to add more honey, go for it. If you want to make it more spicy, add more harissa. I use boneless chicken thighs, skin on, but you can also do this with chicken breasts, but just keep an eye on it so it doesn’t dry out. Recipe is for four, but easily doubled.
Ingredients
Four boneless skin on chicken thighs (Nota bene: if you want to use bone-in, also delicious - but it will add 15-20 min in the oven)
Two Tablespoons honey
One heaping teaspoon harissa (a little goes a long way!)
One teaspoon lemon juice
pinch of garlic powder (1/4 teaspoon)
big pinch of dried tarragon (1/2 teaspoon) optional, you can also do parsley
salt + pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 190 C/ 375 F. You will need a baking dish - you may want to line with foil for easier clean up. Start by seasoning the chicken with salt + pepper. Mix the harissa, honey, lemon juice, garlic powder and tarragon in a small bowl. Taste it. This is your opportunity to course correct and adjust! You do not want to taste the marinade on raw chicken. It should be a satisfying mix of sweet, smoky and spicy. Mix this in with the chicken. I bake this right away, but you can leave in the fridge overnight.
Bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes - if you have bone-in chicken thighs, it will be 40-45 minutes. For chicken breasts, check them at 18 minutes (they go fast!). When you test with a fork, the juices should run clear. Enjoy!