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Ready to spice up your chicken game? This chicken recipe is a guanrteed winner.

Chicken thighs coated in harissa chile paste, garlic, onion, and a few warm spices.

Savory, smoky, with a little spicy kick!

Harissa is a hot chilli pepper paste made of roasted red peppers, hot chilli peppers, garlic, coriander, and caraway seeds.

It is most commonly found in Tunisian, Libyan, Moroccan, and Algerian food. You should be able to find it at your local store.

I’ve added earthy warm toasted spices and marinated the chicken overnight so the flavors go right to the bone. And the citrus lends a bright note to the dish.

I would suggest serving this alongside some couscous or quinoa with some toasted nuts, chopped dried apricots, and fresh parsley.

Take your taste buds on a journey without leaving home.

xxx Chef MM

Print

Grilled Harissa Chicken

  • Author: Melissa Mayo

Ingredients

Scale
  • 15 large drumsticks (approx 5 lbs/ 2.25 Kg)
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seed
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled, roughly chopped
  • 5 TBS Harissa paste
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 tsp sumac
  • 1 lemon- juice & zest
  • 1 orange – juice & zest
  • 4 TBS olive oil
  • 2 tsp coarse salt
  • 1 tsp coarse pepper
  • 1 large red onion, sliced
  • 2 oranges- cut into wedges to serve with the chicken
  • Fresh parsley or cilantro to garnish

Instructions

Instructions

Toast the fennel, cumin, and coriander seeds in a frying pan on medium heat till fragrant being careful not to burn them (3-5 minutes).

Add the toasted spices to a food processor along with the garlic, harissa, nutmeg, sumac, lemon, and orange juice & zest, olive oil, salt & pepper. Puree into a paste.

Apply the marinade to the drumsticks, particularly underneath the skin. Place them in a large ziplock bag and pour in any remaining marinade. Add the chopped onion and massage the chicken to make sure it’s coated. Refrigerate overnight.

Bring the chicken to room temperature. Cut the oranges into quarters.

Preheat the grill on medium heat. Lower the grill to medium-low .

Add the chicken and orange halves. Take the oranges off when they have caramelized. Grill the drumsticks for 35-40 minutes turning every 7 minutes.

Place the chicken on a platter alongside the oranges. Garnish with some fresh parsley or cilantro. Serve alongside some couscous or quinoa with some toasted nuts, chopped dried apricots, and fresh parsley.

SERVES 5-6

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I'm Melissa, your host & tour guide.

A Food Network chef, author, mamma, eternal optimist, wannabe-mermaid, spice mixologist, and “dough therapist” (yep, it’s a thing)—

I'm also the founder of Susina Cucina, the gorgeous, Italian cooking school I manifested into my reality. I’m obsessed with Aperol spritzes, travel, and mouthwatering food… especially pizza and pasta.

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