Tag Archives: red onion

Sheet-Pan Harissa and Orange Chicken with Chickpeas

At home meals, Moroccan, North African, , , , , , , ,

Look, I don’t make the rules, but I do make this chicken, and it’s a top contender for Best Chicken Recipe Alive. The marinade—harissa, honey, orange, warm spices—does all the heavy lifting while you do basically nothing except dirty one pan. Harissa, a North African spice, is the ringleader: smoky, fiery, and completely unwilling to be subtle (unless you use a mild version).

There’s something undeniably satisfying about a sheet-pan meal: the ease, the minimal cleanup, and the way flavors meld together on just one pan in the oven to create something so much more flavorful than the sum of its parts.

This recipe is a perfect example of this. It’s vibrant, bold, and aromatic from a flavorful marinade of harissa, fresh orange zest and juice, and warm spices, including cumin, coriander, turmeric, and ginger, which coats every element of the meal. It takes just a few minutes to prepare before cooking completely hands-off in the oven.

The spicy harissa balanced with the sweet orange juice and honey brings layers of heat and complexity to the dish. Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are ideal here, as they stay juicy and tender while the skin crisps up in the oven. Meanwhile, the chickpeas roast underneath the thighs, soaking up all the flavorful chicken juices as the chickpeas turn golden and slightly crispy on the edges.

Generously coating everything in the marinade creates this dish’s bold, bright flavor, which sets it apart from other basic weeknight sheet-pan chicken dinners. The addition of red onion and garlic further deepens the dish’s flavor, creating a meal that’s both comforting and exciting to eat.

Adaptability? You bet! You can adjust the spice level by choosing a mild or spicy harissa and using less or more as desired, swap chickpeas for small potato chunks or cauliflower, or even add a handful of olives for a briny punch.

Because the marinade is like liquid gold, you may want to add another can of chickpeas or serve over steamed rice to help sop up all that lusciousness.

Sheet-Pan Harissa and Orange Chicken with Chickpeas

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 lbs. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 8 chicken thighs)
  • 2 tsp. kosher salt, divided; for table salt use half as much by volume
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup homemade chicken stock
  • Zest of 2 oranges plus 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 to 2 Tbsp. harissa paste, according to taste
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
  • 1 tsp. ground coriander
  • 1 tsp. ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 lb. red onions (about 2 medium), thinly sliced
  • 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup briny pitted olives (optional)

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season all over with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside.
  2. For the Marinade: In a large bowl whisk to combine stock, orange zest, orange juice, oil, 1 tablespoon harissa, honey, garlic, cilantro, coriander, turmeric, ginger, cumin, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Taste marinade and add up to 1 tablespoon more harissa if needed for desired heat level.
  3. To a rimmed baking sheet, add onions, chickpeas and olives (if using), pour half of marinade over top, and use hands or a large spoon to toss to coat and spread into an even layer.
  4. In bowl with remaining marinade, add chicken and use hands or a large spoon to thoroughly coat chicken with marinade. Place chicken, skin side up, on top of onions and chickpeas. Pour leftover marinade around the chicken in the sheet-pan. Roast until onions are tender, chicken skin is browned and crispy, and a thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 175°F, about 40-45 minutes.
  5. Garnish chicken and chickpeas with cilantro and serve immediately.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Adapted from a recipe by Nargisse Benkabbou for Serious Eats

Orange-Wine-Braised Chicken Thighs

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Chicken is the basis for at least one of our meals most weeks. It is so versatile and pretty much all meat eaters love the bird. But if it is bland and dry, then nobody is happy. And this recipe is anything but.

For a brighter winter braise, this recipe turns to floral, sweet-tart oranges and zippy, tannic orange wine. (We did not have orange wine so we used a rosé.) The result: falling-off-the-bone tender chicken and a spoon-coating sauce that keeps you going back for bite after bite. The duo offers a just-right balance of acid and sugar and a hit of fermented complexity that mellows out in the sauce while giving it structure.

Orange wine, simply put, is made from white grapes that have been fermented with their skins (like red wine). The result is a complex drink with deep flavor. It’s a broad category, and flavors can range drastically from bottle to bottle. For this recipe, it is recommended to use something dry to balance out the citrus. Taste before using: If your bottle skews sweet, you can still use it; just omit the sugar from the recipe.

The skin was crispy, the meat juicy, and the sauce was beyond measure!!

Orange-Wine-Braised Chicken Thighs

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1½ tsp. paprika
  • 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 2¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided, plus more
  • 2½ tsp. freshly ground pepper, divided, plus more
  • 2½ lb. skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 6 medium), patted dry
  • ¼ cup (or more) extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 small oranges, cut into quarters
  • 3 small red onions, roots trimmed, with ends left intact, peeled, quartered through root ends
  • 12 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups orange wine, dry rosé, or tart, high-acid white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling)
  • 1 cup fresh orange juice
  • 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • ⅓ cup Dijon mustard
  • 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 4 sprigs rosemary, tied together with kitchen twine

Directions

  1. Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Mix 1½ teaspoons paprika, 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal or 1¾ teaspoons Morton kosher salt, and 1½ teaspoons freshly ground pepper in a small bowl. Pat 2½ pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 6 medium) dry and sprinkle all over with spice mixture. Set aside.
  2. Heat ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil in an ovenproof Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium. Cook 2 small oranges, cut into quarters, on cut sides until browned and blackened in spots, about 2 minutes per side. (Oil might spatter, so have a lid nearby to place on top if needed.) Transfer oranges to a large plate.
  3. Add more oil to same pot if dry and cook 3 small red onions, roots trimmed, with ends left intact, peeled, quartered through root ends, on cut sides until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to plate with oranges. Add 12 garlic cloves, peeled, to pot and cook, stirring often, until browned, 2–3 minutes. Transfer to plate with oranges and onions.
  4. Working in batches if needed, cook reserved chicken thighs, skin side down, in pot, undisturbed, until deep golden brown underneath and they release easily from pan, 7–9 minutes. Turn skin side up and transfer to a separate plate.
  5. Cook 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour in pot, stirring constantly, until no dry pockets remain, 30–60 seconds. Gradually pour in 2 cups orange wine, dry rosé, or tart, high-acid white wine, whisking constantly to prevent clumping, then stir in 1 cup fresh orange juice, 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth, ⅓ cup Dijon mustard, 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, remaining 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ½ teaspoon Morton kosher salt, and remaining 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Bring to a boil and cook until sauce is reduced by half and thinly coats a spoon, 8–10 minutes. Taste sauce and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
  6. Remove pot from heat and scatter oranges, onions, and garlic around. Nestle chicken thighs in, skin side up, so they’re about halfway in sauce; (we left ours sitting atop the oranges and onions to insure crispy skin) add 4 sprigs rosemary, tied together with kitchen twine. Roast in oven, uncovered, until chicken is very tender and easily pulls away from bones, about 1 hour.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe by Jesse Szewczyk for Bon Appétit Magazine

Jerusalem-Style “Mixed-Grill” Chicken

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Milk Street, where this recipe hails from, explains that Jerusalem mixed grill is a popular Israeli street food, one that is said to originate in Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market. The term “mixed” refers to the sundry ingredients that go into the dish—chicken meat, hearts, spleen and liver, along with bits of lamb, plus onions and spices. Now don’t get all squeamish over the innards because…

…To re-create a simplified mixed grill at home, Milk Street (MS) borrowed from chef Daniel Alt’s version at The Barbary and Omri Mcnabb’s take on it at The Palomar, two London restaurants that serve up modern Levantine and Middle Eastern cuisine. MS then limited the meat to boneless, skinless chicken thighs and seasoned them assertively with select spices. You can now let out a collective sigh.

In place of a grill, a nonstick skillet on the stovetop is used. Amba, a pickled mango condiment, is commonly served with mixed grill to offset the richness of the meat. Here however, quick-pickle sliced red onion offers a similar acidity and brightness. Nutty, creamy tahini sauce is non-negotiable, and a necessary requirement for the full experience. Serve the chicken with warmed pita.

Be mindful NOT to stir the chicken-onion mixture too often while cooking; doing so disrupts browning. Intermittent stirring—no more than every 2 to 3 minutes—allows the chicken to develop nice, deep, flavor-building char.

Jerusalem-Style Mixed-Grill Chicken

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • ¼ cup white vinegar
  • ½ tsp. white sugar
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • ⅓ cup tahini
  • 4 Tbsp. lemon juice, divided
  • 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1½ tsp. ground coriander
  • 1 tsp. ground allspice
  • 1 tsp. ground turmeric
  • ¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch chunks
  • Multi-grain pita pickets, warmed in oven wrapped in tinfoil, (optional)

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, stir together the vinegar, sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt until the sugar and salt dissolve. Stir in 1 cup of sliced onion; set aside. In another small bowl, mix together the tahini and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, then whisk in 6 tablespoons water. Season to taste with salt and pepper; set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons of oil, the coriander, allspice, turmeric, cinnamon and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Add the chicken and the remaining sliced onion, then stir until evenly coated.
  3. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil until barely smoking. Add the chicken mixture in an even layer and cook, uncovered and stirring only every 2 to 3 minutes, until the chicken is well browned all over and no longer is pink when cut into, 10 to 12 minutes.
  4. Off heat, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving dish, drizzle lightly with some of the tahini sauce and top with the pickled onion. Serve the remaining tahini sauce on the side.
Yes, these are something to write home about!

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe adapted from 177 Milk Street

White Bean and Tuna Salad

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It was a very trying Spring with cool, rainy weather amplified by the restraints from the pandemic, followed by racial tensions and curfews. But the weather in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast finally turned a corner with longer stretches of warmer days when I penned this blog. Ideal for this classic Italian salad which marries cooked white beans and oil-packed tuna for a protein-packed, pantry-friendly, light meal.

With summer now hitting the high notes—and by that I mean real muggy with soaring temps—it’s time to move away from heartier stews, and dive into bean dishes like this one, which require little to no additional cooking, and can be served at room temperature.

Because this dish is comprised of just a few ingredients, it’s at its best when made with top quality products. Cooked dried beans (and their cooking liquid) have much better flavor and texture than canned beans, so it’s highly recommended to use them in this recipe, if possible. BUT, we didn’t want to “cook” so we used Great Northern canned.

Protein-Packed

According to SeriousEats.com where we got this recipe, if using canned beans, substitute bean cooking liquid with 2 teaspoons water and 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard. The flavor of the dish obviously won’t be exactly the same, but mustard provides similar emulsifying properties as the bean cooking liquid for the dressing. I just learned something new with that!

Beans are one thing, but do not skimp on the tuna. The quality of the tuna you use will make a difference here. Oil-packed ventresca tuna is recommended, which comes from the richer, fatty belly; it’s moister and more flavorful than other canned or jarred tuna. Two great options of ventresca are both Ortiz and Tonnino—we used the latter.

About that tuna, 5.6 ounces for 4 people? Seemed a bit scant to me. Our jar was slightly larger at 6.7 ounces. (I noted the larger amount in the list below.) Plus, I don’t know why they didn’t save the oil after draining the tuna. We did, and it was exactly a 1/4-cup, the amount of EVOO needed for the dressing. The jarred oil is already brimming with flavor from the tuna, so why not use it?

Using a small mandoline to slice the red onion very thin makes quick work of the task. The original recipe doesn’t even list greens in the ingredients (although it is fleetingly mentioned in their narrative), but to me, a dinner salad needs a bed of them, otherwise it’s a “side dish” in my opinion. We chose a mix of baby spinach and arugula.

Hearty, but light, this salad requires less than 10 minutes of hands-on work, making it the perfect no-cook, quarantine pantry, warm-weather meal. And because it can be served at room temperature, it would make a fine contribution to a potluck or picnic affair. Enjoy!

White Bean and Tuna Salad

  • Servings: 3-4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1/2 red onion, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
  • 1 Tbsp. Champagne, white wine, or red wine vinegar plus extra for drizzling
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 cups (1 pound 6 ounces) cooked dry white beans, drained; or two (15-ounce) cans low-sodium white beans, drained and rinsed
  • 6.7 ounces olive oil-packed tuna, preferably ventresca tuna belly, drained into a measuring cup, and gently flaked into bite-size pieces (save the oil for the dressing)
  • 1 med. garlic clove, minced or finely grated
  • 1 Tbsp. bean cooking liquid, from a pot of beans cooked from dry (see note if using canned beans)
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, enough needed, if any, to add to the tuna oil to make 1/4 cup
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves and tender stems
  • 5 oz. baby salad greens
  • Drain the tuna, save the liquid
  • Slice 1/2 red onion very thin
  • Onion sits in ice water for 15 min
  • Combine drained beans and tuna in large bowl.

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, combine red onion and enough ice water to cover. Using clean hands, gently scrunch and squeeze the onion slices, taking care not to crush or break them. Let onion slices sit in ice water for 15 minutes, then drain and discard ice water, and return red onion to now-empty bowl.
  2. Add vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon salt and toss and gently massage onions to evenly coat with vinegar and salt. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow onion slices to marinate.
  3. Meanwhile, combine beans and tuna in a large bowl. Once onions have marinated for 5 minutes, squeeze onion slices to release moisture into the bowl that they marinated in, then transfer onion slices to large bowl with beans and tuna; set large bowl aside.
  4. There should be at least 1 tablespoon of vinegar-onion juice liquid left in the small bowl. Add garlic, bean cooking liquid (or, if using canned beans, 2 teaspoons water plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard), and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, and whisk to combine. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the tuna olive oil. Stir in parsley and season to taste with salt.
  5. Transfer dressing to large bowl with bean-tuna mixture, using a rubber spatula to scrape all of the dressing into the large bowl. Using a large spoon, gently toss salad to evenly coat with dressing, taking care not to crush tuna or beans in the process.
  6. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide salad between individual serving plates or one large serving platter.
  7. If desired, drizzle lightly with olive oil and a splash of vinegar, and serve.

http://www.lynnandruss.com