Harissa Chicken recipe

I’m a huge fan of middle Eastern and Arabic cuisine and have long tried to find a way to introduce it into my cooking. Many of the recipes I have seen take a long time and while I’m always up for a challenge, working full-time means easy meals are always more welcome. Even more so now I am a mummy on maternity leave where my main focus is looking after my new bundle :o)

I was therefore intrigued when Steenbergs Organic herbs sent me an Arabic spice kit to try out. Steenbergs is a family run company that sells organic spices, loose leaf tea and organic cooking ingredients. I was immediately drawn to the harissa with rose, especially as I had indulged in the most delicious harissa chicken sandwich at a nearby pub. The kit came with a handy recipe sheet which I used to whip up a very simple and exceptionally tasty chicken dish.

These quantities fed two of us, and you could easily scale up for more people.

You will need:

• 350g chicken breast, cut into strips
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoons of Steenbergs Organic harissa with rose
• 1 knob of butter

What to do:

1. In an ovenproof dish, add the chicken and coat with the oil.
2. Add the harissa and mix well.
3. Add the butter and mix again. I had garlic butter in the freezer so used that, plain butter would also work or you could add garlic separately.
4. Leave to marinade for up to 24 hours – the longer you can leave it, the more flavourful the dish will be.
5. Cook in the oven on 180 deg C for around 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
6. Serve with salads, or flatbread, homous and mixed leaves. To make the meal even easier for us, I served with Waitrose ready made cous cous salad and a wild rice salad.

That’s all there is to it. I love marinating because it is so easy to do, and delivers such great results.

For another great chicken recipe, you might like this idea for left over chicken curry.

What are your favourite marinade recipes?