Harissa Recipes for Chicken, Veg, Cocktails
Taste of Home shares 11 recipes using harissa paste, from slow-cooker chicken and roasted vegetables to a sweet-and-spicy margarita.
Harissa, the North African chili paste, can transform a variety of dishes from mains to drinks. Taste of Home has compiled a list of 11 recipes that put a jar of the spicy condiment to work. The collection includes everything from weeknight chicken dinners to a unique cocktail.
Main Dishes and Sides
Several recipes focus on hearty main courses and vegetable sides. The slow-cooker harissa chicken, from contributor Margaret Knoebel of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, uses harissa chili paste, tomato paste, and coconut milk to create a creamy sauce for serving with rice. For a copycat restaurant dish, the Taste of Home Test Kitchen offers a recipe for Cava-style harissa honey chicken, which requires a flavorful marinade and about 15 minutes on a grill.
Vegetable-centric dishes include harissa roasted vegetables, also from Margaret Knoebel, which are served with a creamy whipped feta and a mint garnish. Crispy smashed potatoes come with a harissa-infused vinaigrette, a creation from Lindsay Mattison of Beaverton, Oregon. Teri Schloessmann from Tulsa, Oklahoma, created sweet potato fritters flavored with harissa to use up leftovers.
| Recipe | Calories per Serving | Key Contributor |
|---|---|---|
| Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Harissa Vinaigrette | 331 | Lindsay Mattison, Beaverton, Oregon |
| Slow-Cooker Harissa Chicken | 302 | Margaret Knoebel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Harissa Roasted Vegetables | 403 | Margaret Knoebel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Copycat Cava Harissa Honey Chicken | 326 | Taste of Home Test Kitchen, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Sweet Potato Fritters | 217 (for 2 fritters) | Teri Schloessmann, Tulsa, Oklahoma |
Global Inspirations and Small Plates
The collection features several dishes with international roots. There is a slow-cooker chickpea tagine from Raymond Wyatt of West St. Paul, Minnesota, inspired by travels in Morocco. Chris Bugher from Fairview, North Carolina, provides a recipe for feta-stuffed kibbeh, an adaptation of a Middle Eastern dish that can be made with lamb or ground beef.
For a pizza-style option, Tamar Yacoubian of Ketchum, Idaho, shares a recipe for Lehmejun, or Armenian pizza, using flour tortillas as a base. Barbara Marynowski from Hutto, Texas, created a vegan Moroccan cauliflower and almond soup that she says makes your house smell amazing.
Sauces and Drinks
Harissa also works in condiments and beverages. Evan Haut of Canton, Ohio, developed a red-eye barbecue sauce with a hint of coffee for a culinary school assignment. For a cocktail, Mindie Hilton of Susanville, California, created a sweet-and-spicy harissa margarita. It uses a honey-harissa simple syrup and pomegranate juice for color and freshness.
Each recipe in the Taste of Home collection includes full nutrition facts. The harissa margarita, for instance, contains 290 calories and 43 grams of carbohydrate per drink. The red-eye barbecue sauce has 60 calories per two-tablespoon serving.
