A little over three years ago, I took a class at a local restaurant, Tara Kitchen, which sent me on a Moroccan-cooking bender: I stocked my pantry with ras-el-hanout and harissa, made a batch (two actually) of preserved lemons, then used them to make a tagine with chicken, green olives, and raisins. I had known little about Moroccan cooking before taking the class, and I still know little, but everything I seem to make with Moroccan seasonings, I tend to love: see Leblebi (North African Chickpea Stew) and now this one-pot chicken and rice with dates, harissa, and pistachios.
It’s a mix of sweet and spicy, smoky and crunchy, and best of all it couldn’t be simpler to prepare. It comes from Diana Henry’s Simple, and I wrote about it on Food52. Feel free to skip right to the recipe.
Note: You’ll need harissa, a spicy prepared paste/sauce, which is not hard to find these days. I’m using Tara Kitchen’s brand, which is now available at Whole Foods Market (not everywhere, see locations here). Here’s the jar:
Moroccan Chicken and Rice with Dates, Harissa & Pistachios
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Adapted From Diana Henry’s Simple.
I have made the recipe somewhat more fussy: the original recipe truly calls for throwing everything in the pot, sticking it in the oven, and baking it. I didn’t love the taste of the raw onion, so I added one more step, which is to sauté the onions for 5 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients one after the other.
I prefer toasting whole cumin seeds then grinding them in my mortar and pestle. Do this if you prefer as well. I also don’t love ground ginger, so I used a teaspoon of coriander seeds (not similar, but works here), which I also toasted and ground.
Harissa is spicy prepared Moroccan sauce/paste. It varies in heat level, so you may have to adjust to taste. I found the 1.5 tablespoons called for in the original recipe not spicy enough for me; 4 tablespoons is quite spicy, however.
Original recipe calls for 12 dates. I prefer fewer, but use as many as you wish.
Brown rice: several commenters tried unsuccessfully to use brown rice. It’s possible that a larger amount of water could help the brown rice cook properly, but I’ve never tried, so I can’t say for sure. I would look to the package instructions for guidance re water and time.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 8 pieces bone-in, skin-on thighs and/or drumsticks
- 2 to 4 tablespoons harissa
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin or whole cumin seeds (see notes above)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger (optional, see notes above)
- 1 cup basmati rice, rinsed until water runs clear, do not use brown rice, see notes above
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 to 12 medjool dates, diced (see notes above)
- 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons (or more) chopped pistachios (I use roasted unsalted)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a large skillet over high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil until it shimmers. Add the onions and reduce the heat to medium. Add a pinch of salt, and sauté until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the chicken in a large bowl. Season all over with salt and pepper. Pour in the remaining tablespoon of oil and 1 to 2 tablespoons of harissa, depending on your heat tolerance. Toss to coat.
- Add the garlic to the onions, and cook for another minute more. Add the spices and 1 to 2 tablespoons of the harissa (depending again on your heat tolerance). Stir to coat the onions in the seasonings. Add the rice and stir for another minute or until each grain is glistening. Add the dates and zest the orange right into the pan. Halve the orange and squeeze the juice right into the pan. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the pan. Stir to combine. Nestle the chicken over the top of the rice. Pour 1 and 1/3 cups water (see notes above re water) all around. Nestle in the bay leaf.
- Transfer pan to the oven (uncovered) and cook for 40 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Scatter pistachios over top. Serve immediately.
Lynn says
I made this last night. It was the perfect “One Pot Wonder” I was looking for on this snowy March evening. I used the 3 TBlsp of harissa and only 6 dates and found it to be the perfect amount of sweet/hot.I loved the crunch of the pistachios on top. I did add some sliced green olives along with the pistachios to brighten up the dish. Served with a kale salad with Lemon-Tahini dressing. This will definitely go into my permanent rotation.!
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Lynn! Glad you were able to find a good sweet/hot balance. Green olives sound delicious as does the kale salad with lemon-tahini dressing. Yum!
Kevin | economicalchef.com says
I have not made much Moroccan food, but this recipe looks awesome. I have heard nothing but good things about harissa, and am excited to give this a try. Thanks for the recipe!
alexandra says
It’s a great one, Kevin!
Annie says
Wow, this looks amazing! I want to cook it right now – but there’s a blizzard on the way, so perhaps next week. I can’t use the pistachios due to an allergy, so I’m wondering what you think about using peanuts (not allergic, thank goodness) vs just leaving them off. I have no idea if pistachios taste like peanuts (I’ve never been able to eat them) or if that would throw things off, or perhaps there’s something else that would lend the crunch?
alexandra says
So sorry for the delay here!! I think you could use any nut or just leave them off. Somehow I think pine nuts would be delicious here as would almonds and walnuts — could you use any of those? Honestly, I don’t think you can go wrong, so just go for it, if peanuts are best for you!
CHRISTINE MCNEIL says
This recipe is out of this world delicious!!!!! Make it and follow Alexandra’s Kitchen’s recommendation’s to the T. I added the 12 dates and roasted the pistachios and it bumped it up!
alexandra says
Yay!! So happy to hear this, Christine!!
Peppermint Dolly says
This looks awesome!!
Rebecca
xx
http://www.peppermintdolly.com
alexandra says
Thanks R!
Animesh Jaswal says
very nice blog but i want to know about what are different mutton recipes that we can make now a days ?
stanp says
My wife and I cook similar type dishes in a tagine. Ever use one ?
Have totry this version. We have the spices.
Thx for the change of pace for us !
alexandra says
I don’t use my tagine enough!! You are inspiring me 🙂
Olga says
Ciao Alexandra, I do not normally comment, but simply enjoy your dishes from your blog here in Chianti. I had found harissa in a small market in Siena and had been looking for a good recipe to use it, I looked at my “Simple” book which I use often (also “A Change of Appetite”)and found the recipe with eggplant, but wanted something different and found your version! It was a joy to cook and so absolutely delicious to eat. As you indicated the basmati was that combination of tender and crunchy. I love ginger, and used fresh instead of the dry, and used 4 dates and 4 apricots. Tonight we have some perfect leftovers, and the dish should be even better. Grazie mille, and a very happy holidays to you and yours. Un forte abbraccio.