Pan-Seared Chicken With Harissa, Dates and Citrus
Updated Feb. 13, 2023

- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 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
Preparation
- 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
Comments
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.
Is this dry or wet harissa? I have some of both.
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?
This was really really good -- every detail. My only mistake was using too large thighs, which ended up crowding the pan and interfering a little with the searing. No matter. The sauce was to die for. The dates and shallots were out of this world. Quite simple to make too.
We did it according to the recipe but - like my fellow pepper sensitivity sufferers! these are my people!! - we forwent the Harissa and used tomato paste and some additional black pepper. We threw in some wine we were drinking too. I poured in way too much chicken stock. I got too hot so I put the whole thing in the oven for 25 mins at 400. We argued over whether sopping up the delicious juice was better done with bread or rice. Luckily we had both.
I have found my ALLERGIC TO PEPPERS community!!! It’s not a true allergy, just extreme pepper adversity and suffering after eating. This is a major moment after suffering for years and feeling like a weirdo!
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