Spicy Harissa Chicken and Chickpea Traybake
Chicken breast and carrots roast with chickpeas until the edges caramelize, then get spooned with a cooling harissa yogurt. A high-protein traybake with real heat and a creamy finish.
- Total
- 42 min
- Prep 10 · Cook 32
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Roasting · Blooming spices
- Savory
- Spicy
- Oven
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 220°C. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
~2 min
-
Cut the carrots into 1.5 cm chunks. Pat the chicken breast dry and cut it into 3 cm pieces. Drain the chickpeas well.
~5 min
Drying the chicken helps the harissa paste cling and lets the surface brown instead of steaming.
-
In a small bowl, stir 1 tbsp harissa, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper into a paste.
~3 min
Blooming the spices in oil before roasting distributes their fat-soluble flavors evenly across the tray.
If the harissa you have is very hot, use 2 tsp in the paste and keep the rest for the yogurt so the heat stays balanced.
Blooming spices Stir ground spices into oil or paste before cooking to release their fat-soluble aromas. If they smell fragrant rather than raw, they are ready.
-
Toss the carrots and chickpeas with half the harissa paste on the tray and spread them in a single layer. Roast for 15 minutes, until the carrots start to soften and the chickpeas look dry at the edges.
~15 min
A single layer lets hot air circulate so chickpeas dry and crisp rather than steam and soften.
The chickpeas crisp best when they are drained well and given space; if they look crowded, spread them to the tray's edges before the chicken goes on.
Roasting Spread ingredients in a single layer with space between pieces so they brown and caramelize instead of steaming. Crowding the tray is the most common mistake.
-
While step 4 cooks
While the vegetables roast, stir the remaining harissa paste into the chicken pieces in the bowl.
~2 min
Coating the chicken while the vegetables roast gives the paste time to penetrate and season the meat.
-
Pull the tray out, push the vegetables aside and add the chicken in a single layer. Roast 12 to 15 minutes, until the chicken reaches 74°C and the carrot edges are browned.
~15 min
Cooking chicken to 74°C kills bacteria while pulling it at that point keeps the lean breast juicy.
Roasting Spread ingredients in a single layer with space between pieces so they brown and caramelize instead of steaming. Crowding the tray is the most common mistake.
-
Spoon the yogurt over the hot tray, scraping up the spiced juices, and serve straight from the tray.
~2 min
Scraping the spiced juices into the yogurt deglazes the tray, turning caramelized fond into sauce.