Pan-Seared Chicken With Harissa, Dates and Citrus
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 1 to 2navel oranges
- ¼cup harissa
- 1tablespoon honey
- 1teaspoon ground cumin
- 2garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the flat side of a knife
- 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 8small bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (2½ to 3 pounds)
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 6whole shallots, quartered lengthwise
- 1cup pitted medjool dates, halved
- 1bunch scallions, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 1cup chicken stock, store-bought or homemade
- 2tablespoons fresh lime juice
- ¼cup labne or full-fat plain Greek yogurt
- ¼cup chopped fresh dill
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
919 calories; 52 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 26 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 75 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 56 grams sugars; 43 grams protein; 1534 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Remove the peel from both oranges in strips using a vegetable peeler and reserve. Squeeze 1 cup of juice from the oranges.
- Step 2
Make the marinade in a large bowl by whisking together the harissa, honey, cumin, garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil and ¼ cup orange juice. Pat the chicken pieces dry and season both sides generously with salt. Add the chicken to the marinade and coat evenly with the marinade. At this point, you can cover and refrigerate the chicken for up to 24 hours.
- Step 3
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots, dates and reserved orange peel. Season lightly with salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots are browned in spots and the dates are caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add the scallions and cook to soften slightly, about 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a plate and set aside.
- Step 4
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet and place the chicken pieces skin-side down in the skillet, still over medium heat drizzle any marinade left in the bowl over the chicken pieces. Cook until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Flip the chicken pieces to cook the other side until just seared, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and remaining ¾ cup orange juice, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Step 5
Cook until the liquid is reduced by half and the chicken is cooked through and tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Return the shallot mixture to the skillet, stirring to disperse and coat with the broth. Add the lime juice and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes to soften the shallots. Remove from the heat and taste to see if you need to add more salt. Top with dots of yogurt and sprinkle with the dill.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Kim Gnerre
Is this dry or wet harissa? I have some of both.
SusanB
Question with disclaimers: Recognizing 'harissa' is in the title, and is the main ingredient for flavor - I cannot eat peppers. The recipe otherwise looks delicious. Is there any substitute anyone can recommend for the harissa, even though (please be kind - it is sad enough to always have to edit peppers out of recipes or discard the recipe altogether) it is central to the flavors here?
Corinne
SusanB, as someone with other food allergies, I understand your dilemma. Is it the chili peppers you can't eat or all peppers? I'm wondering if you can tolerate smoked paprika. That with some coriander, cumin, and caraway (toasted first) mixed with garlic, tomato paste, and vinegar would be some approximation (there are various harissa recipes online). If you cannot do paprika, I think those other flavors would still be nice. Would love to hear how your substitutions go.
carol m
Thought this was delicious! I made 1/4 c. Harissa paste with two Tbsp harissa powder, 1 tbsp each olive oil and water. Cooked the chix legs longer as they needed about 8-10 more min. in the skillet than the recipe recommends. Otherwise followed it exactly and the flavors were deep, rich and warm but not too spicy. Coucous is the perfect accompaniment as it soaks up all the good juices and flavors. I used 1.8 lbs of skin on, bone in thighs. Excellent!
BB
Just use harissa powder: it is ground SUMAC berries. Not pepper!
Eleanor
I thought I had skin on, bone in chicken, but when I went to use it, I discovered that in fact, it was skinless and boneless, so I didn't have much hope. Also, when I picked up oranges, I reached into the wrong bin and picked up blood oranges. In truth, it would have been better with skin on thighs, but it was amazing, and before we were finished eating, my partner asked when I'd make it again. Total keeper!
Doug C.
Made this for dinner last night and it was a big hit. One issue: although I opted to use two navel oranges for the peel (which add a lot to the dish), I needed FOUR oranges to get a full cup of juice — and it was rather difficult to squeeze the juice out of them. You might want to consider buying a small bottle of orange juice instead of trying to get a full cup of juice from your navel oranges.
StanleyB
THIS was well worth the effort! We had never (knowingly) had harissa. I found the harrissa sauce (wet) at Trader Joes, so sourcing was simple. It added spiciness, but was not overly hot. The shallots made us expect a dominant 'onion' flavor but the cooked down nicely and with the dates really made a very tasty sauce and the chicken turned out great. Served it with jasmine rice and oven roasted red, orange, and yellow bell peppers. I'm on a search for more recipes with harissa sauce & dates!!
ChrisH
Substitutes for Harissa: Tabasco, sriracha, sambal oleck, chilli bean paste or korean Gochujang
Karen, SF
Janet replied below that wet makes sense due to 1/4 cup amount needed for recipe. I think you could use either, but 1/4 cup of dry Harissa is a LOT.
pearlicious
2 tbsp dry harissa 1 tbsp oil 1 tbsp water
irene
In the market I saw tubes of "harissa" in the produce aisle alongside those tubes of crushed garlic, basil, lemongrass, etc. I took a couple, but in the condiments area I saw a jar of harissa. Comparing the ingredients, I found the first ingredient in the tube was beetroot and the second was carrots. Peppers were third. In the jar, the first two ingredients were roasted and other peppers. The tubes went back to the produce aisle. Buyer beware!
Barbara, NH
So, is wet or dry Harisa used in this recipe? I don't see a response, yet
Ginny
In this case, harissa spice blend is made with smoked chili peppers among other ingredients including cumin, coriander, peppercorns, paprika, garlic powder, salt, parsley, and oregano. If you cannot eat peppers (including those turned into powdered spices), you could always make your own spice blend while just omitting the chili pepper. Your dish will lack the heat that packs the punch the recipe needs to balance the amount of citrus and fat, though.
Janet
I'm guessing that it's the wet one. If dry, it would probably be measured in spoonfuls (lie the cumin), not cups. But it's a guess!
cbd sc
Holy cow! This was FABULOUS! I made exactly as written and served with couscous and broccolini - to rave reviews.
David Rearick
Made as listed but I was disappointed that many of the ingredients didn't come through. Also, the rind from two oranges isn't really edible. It looks great, but I'm disappointed in the taste.
mimi bee
With cooking time reduction, this recipe adds pizazz to plant-based chicken. Easy to make it completely vegan by using soy (or nut milk yogurt.
Heather
Could I make this in advance of guests arriving for dinner? If so, what is the best way to keep it warm/skin crispy until serving?
AF
I have never cooked with Harissa before but now recognize as that wonderful flavor in many Indian dishes I like. I had bought dry harissa powder since it was all I found, but then made a paste by mixing equal parts powder, water, and oil (saw this on the internet). I used boneless thighs but otherwise stayed true to the recipe. Came out great!
jodee Martin
Do you remove the orange peels before serving?
Alana
I absolutely loved this. To make it a bit healthier, I used skinless thighs, fat free Greek yogurt, and fewer dates. Still tasted amazing! Dill at the end is a must.
Emily
Chicken will take longer than 1-2 minutes to brown and well over 30 to cook. Please plan accordingly.
Jessica Martin
This was delicious and an extravagant experience. I added red carrots and chickpeas to the pan as the chicken simmered and served it over turmeric rice. I also used golden raisins instead of dates as that is what I had. The marinade was so flavorful, cooking time was perfect, the orange peel was soft and edible. Perfect amount of sweetness to it.
B. Keith
Came together nicely, but when cooked for the specified amount of time, the thighs were still a bit undercooked. I also served roasted asparagus and the oven was still hot enough to restart, so I placed the thighs on a baking sheet at 375˚ for 15-20min. Since the thighs came out of the sauce, then oven-finished, it created a nice glaze over the thighs. Second, the orange peels in the sauce was a bit much. I'd still include, bigger and thinner cut peels, removing larges ones before serving,
Kathy G
This dish is incredible! Mouth O happening. Used jarred mild harissa, sold at my regular grocery market. Served with pearl couscous made with broth and lime juice. Used boneless skinless thighs, less fat and did not detract. Would use less orange rind next time, around 1 orange would be better. Don’t skip adding the lime juice and yogurt. My partner was gushing, pretty sure it was the meal, not me. The dill got a bit lost in the pow. Will definitely make again!
Laurie
2/27/24 made with larger thighs (4) about 2 #. Peel of one Orange seemed enough just added some on to get to 1 cup. Used 3 TBS dry harissa with 1TBS of olive oil. Marinated overnight. Kept other amounts the same. Cooked in large caste iron skillet. Very tasty not too spicy. Definitely will make again
Mary
This has many flavors interacting, and the result is absolutely DELICIOUS. We were completely satisfied. The interesting flavors were new to us. My husband is not keen on spice, but the offsets - lime juice, orange juice, dates, shallots, scallions, honey - all made it come together in a most pleasing way. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs since that’s what we had.
jessica
My chicken thighs did not want to cook through in anything like the timeline in the recipe. In the end I took them out and put them in the oven to finish. Next time might try putting the skillet in the oven after you add the liquids and just letting it cook uncovered in there.
maddison
skin does not get crispy, remove skin and crisp separately. cara cara oranges work well
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