Harissa Roast Chicken with Crispy Potatoes

Name: Harissa Roast Chicken with Crispy Potatoes
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h 40 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Home
Ingredients: 4 (about 1.5 lb) Chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on; 1.5 lb Baby potatoes; 1 Lemon; 1 head Garlic; 1 small bunch Flat-leaf parsley; 1 small jar (you use 3 tbsp) Harissa paste; 1 small tub Greek yogurt, plain; Olive oil, salt, black pepper

One tray, forty minutes in the oven, and it comes out looking like a restaurant sent it. The harissa does the seasoning. The oven does the cooking. You set a timer.

Cost for two: $24
Active time: 20 min
Done ahead: 63%; 1 hr 40 min before 7:30
Hands off at: 7:20; T-10

Allergens: Dairy (yogurt) · Check harissa jar for sesame or sulphites

The 7:30 Timeline

Read it bottom-up if you like; cook it top-down.

Done before she arrives

Aisle order

Shopping list

Meat

Chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on
4 (about 1.5 lb)

Produce

Baby potatoes
1.5 lb
Lemon
1
Garlic
1 head
Flat-leaf parsley
1 small bunch

International / Condiments

Harissa paste
Mild is fine. Rose harissa if they have it.
1 small jar (you use 3 tbsp)

Dairy

Greek yogurt, plain
1 small tub

Pantry (you probably have these)

Olive oil, salt, black pepper

At the stove

Method

1
Heat the oven to 425°F / 220°C. Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towel; dry skin is crispy skin.
2
Rub the chicken all over with 2 tablespoons of harissa, a tablespoon of olive oil, and a big pinch of salt. Set aside in the fridge.
3
Halve the baby potatoes. On a large baking tray, toss them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper, and 4 whole unpeeled garlic cloves. Spread them cut side down. Roast 25 minutes.
4
Stir 1 teaspoon of harissa and a squeeze of lemon into 4 heaped tablespoons of yogurt. Refrigerate.
5
Pull the tray out. Push the potatoes to the edges and lay the chicken skin side up in the centre. Return to the oven for 40 minutes.
6
Check doneness (below). Rest the tray on the stovetop for at least 10 minutes. Squeeze the other half of the lemon over everything.
7
Smear yogurt on each plate, add chicken, then potatoes and the soft garlic cloves. Chopped parsley over the top.

Is it done?

The check that needs no experience

Thermometer in the thickest part, not touching bone: 165°F / 74°C. No thermometer: cut next to the bone, juices run clear with no pink, and the meat pulls away from the bone easily. Thighs are forgiving; ten extra minutes will not hurt them.

The #1 way to screw it up

The skin is pale and floppy because the chicken went in wet, or the oven wasn't fully hot.

Recovery

Switch the oven to broil / grill for 3 to 4 minutes with the tray on the top shelf. Watch it through the glass. Pale skin becomes bronze skin. If it browns unevenly, that is what the parsley is for.

The reveal

Plating

Spoon the yogurt onto the plate first and drag the spoon through it so it looks deliberate. Set one thigh on top, skin up, and pile potatoes and the soft garlic cloves along one side rather than all around. Squeeze lemon over the whole plate and scatter parsley from higher up than feels natural.

Vegetarian swap

Swap the chicken for two thick slabs of halloumi or a whole head of cauliflower cut into two thick steaks, rubbed with the same harissa and oil. Add them to the tray for the last 20 minutes instead of 40.

What to pour

Wine: A cold, dry rosé or a light Grenache. Nothing heavy; the harissa is already doing the work.
Beer: A crisp lager or a witbier. Skip the IPA; bitterness fights the chili.
No alcohol: Sparkling water with a squeeze of the leftover lemon and a few mint leaves if you bought some.

Take this to the supermarket.

The 3 Bulletproof Dinners as a PDF, with the timelines. Free.