Amarante
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 Sun, Sep 08 2019, 4:41 pm
This was very flavorful and easy to make. It only looks long and complicated because there is a recipe for homemade harissa at the end but I just used a store mix and added the one teaspoon of honey.
The recipe is from a new cookbook from a food writer located in Tel Aviv so the recipes seem to be somewhat nouvelle Israel/Tel Aviv with Mediterranean influences. Harissa is obviously a Moroccan Northern African spice blend.
Harissa-Honey Pargiyot - (Boneless Chicken Thighs)
Excerpt From: Adeena Sussman. - Sababa
Though the actual definition of pargit is “baby chicken” or “Cornish hen,” what we’re actually talking about here are dark-meat boneless chicken thighs. Juicy, marinade-friendly, and pleasingly rich, they’re as popular here as skinless, boneless chicken breasts are in the United States. For this recipe, I ask the butcher to leave the skin on. The harissa-honey glaze helps burnish and crisp the skin, and does its part in creating a pan sauce. To take advantage of the loquat’s very short season, I threw some of those in the pan, but apricots, peaches—even tomato wedges—work beautifully here.
Serves 4
Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
1¼ cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons Honey Harissa or 2 tablespoons store-bought, plus more for brushing chicken
2 tablespoons honey, plus more for drizzling
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1½ teaspoons cornstarch
5 to 6 skin-on, boneless chicken thighs (about 1¾ pounds), patted dry
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 small onions (red or white), each cut into 4 wedges through the root* - see below
3 medium loquats or apricots, halved
Thinly sliced scallions (green parts only) or chopped chives, for garnish
Rice, for serving
Arrange a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the broiler.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the broth, harissa, honey, vinegar, salt, and cornstarch. Season the chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper.
Heat the olive oil in a large (at least 10-inch) oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet, skin-side down, and cook without moving until the skin is browned and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook until the underside is browned, 4 more minutes. Remove to a plate and drain and discard all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the skillet.
Reduce the heat to medium and arrange the onions in the skillet with one of the flat sides touching the surface of the skillet. Cook until the onions are golden on the underside, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the onions and brown the underside an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Add the harissa-honey liquid to the skillet, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook until the mixture thickens, 3 to 4 minutes.
Nestle the chicken skin-side up in the pan. Add the fruit and cook the chicken, spooning some of the sauce over the skin, until the fruit begins to soften slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and broil until the skin crisps, the liquid thickens further, and the chicken is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes for smaller thighs, 6 to 7 minutes for larger ones.
Remove the chicken from the oven and garnish with scallions. Divide among plates and spoon the sauce over the top. Serve with rice.
Leaving the root end of an onion intact ensures that when you cut the onion into wedges, they have a better chance of holding their shape.
Honey Harissa
Harissa (see photo on this page), a fiery-red condiment with roots in the Maghreb (the North African region that includes Nigeria, Tunisia, and Morocco), can vary wildly in heat and flavor. Some are milder and almost fermented in flavor, while others are practically too hot to handle. I like my harissa to get used up, so I make it a little mellower, starting with roasted peppers and adding in roasted garlic and even a drop of honey. That gives you more latitude to use it in sandwiches, mixed into mayo or yogurt, or as a seasoning for a soup or a stew. Of course, if you like your harissa super spicy, just add more dried hot peppers.
Makes 1½ cups
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
5 smallish whole dried hot peppers, such as chiles de arbol
2 large red bell peppers, or 2 whole jarred fire-roasted red peppers,* drained, rinsed well, and patted dry
5 garlic cloves, unpeeled, or 5 cloves Garlic Confit
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
If you’re using fresh bell peppers and garlic, preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the whole dried peppers in a bowl, cover with hot water, soak for 30 minutes, then drain and discard the water.
While the chiles are soaking, arrange the peppers on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until puffed and blackened in spots, flipping with tongs halfway through, 25 to 30 minutes total. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, open the oven and throw the garlic cloves on the tray to roast along with the peppers. During the last 5 minutes of roasting, place the caraway seeds, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds on a piece of foil and roast them in the oven until fragrant (check them starting at 3 minutes in case they toast a little ahead of schedule). Remove the spices to cool, then remove the bell peppers and garlic from the oven. Using the tongs, place the bell peppers in a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let cool for 30 minutes.
Transfer the caraway, coriander, and cumin to a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind until powdery. Uncover the bell peppers. Working over the sink, remove and discard the stems, seeds, and skins (but don’t rinse the peppers!). Place the peppers in the bowl of a food processor and squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skins into the bowl along with the ground spices, paprika, soaked hot peppers (hold back on a hot pepper or two at the beginning if you’re scared of a lot of spice), lemon juice, honey, and salt. Process until smooth, then transfer to a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Stored in an airtight container, the harissa will keep for up to 10 days.
*If you’re starting with jarred peppers and Garlic Confit, simply toast the caraway, cumin, and coriander in a small, dry skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until fragrant, transfer to a plate to cool, and proceed as instructed.”
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