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Let me start by disclosing something. As soon as I saw the title of this book, and subtitle – Dinner: Changing the Game By Melissa Clark, I knew it was going to be a great book. With a title like that, how could it not be? It’s eclectic, exciting, fresh, do-able, and most important, it answers the question: What am I going to make for dinner?

The book gets right to the point, and the diversity of recipes includes everything from a Chinese-inspired Spicy Stir-fried Cumin Lamb and Duck Breasts with Plums and Garam Masala, to Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese and Seitan Enchiladas, so everyone will feel welcome around Melissa’s dinner table. And yours, too.

I’d bookmarked a number of the recipes in this book, wondering which to do first. Because, like you, I often wonder “What the heck am I going to make for dinner?”

Usually, it’s 4 pm and with the kids on their way home (okay, here it’s just Romain…) I find myself sometimes scrambling for what to make. There is the usual (and easy) poulet rôti that I can grab at the local butcher, which is my fall-back plan, but since I go to the market as much as possible, I put the ingredients for the Harissa Chicken on my shopping list; chicken thighs, potatoes, leeks, and fresh herbs, and off I went.

I love the idea of a one sheet pan dinner, so there’s less clean up. The idea of roasted chicken and potatoes, bathed in harissa, then topped with mildly exotic yogurt sauce and lots of vibrant fresh herbs, also appeals.

This recipe uses chicken thighs and while I know some of your prefer chicken breasts, those would work as well, although you’d need to dial down the baking time because they cook faster. I’d also cut them in half, crosswise, so more of the marinade gets into the meat. I used to eat more chicken breasts than I do now, but have mostly gone to the dark side, where things are a little more delicious.

I was, however, a little concerned that the recipe called for two tablespoons of harissa. Harissa is a fiery-hot North African hot sauce, that enlivens everything that it touches. A dab is sometimes added to couscous (if it’s not offered at the table, I ask for it), and it’s quite piquante.

In this chicken dish, the long cooking mellows it just enough, giving the chicken more of a “glow,” rather than an overly spicy burn. In contrast, there’s an easy, refreshing yogurt sauce that’s dappled over, and around, the top. The original recipe said to strew “soft” herbs over everything, which gives you license to adjust the dish to your taste. Romain recently discovered aneth (dill), something you can buy at the markets in Paris, but is usually destined for salmon dishes; I’ve not seen it served on anything else.

Dill definitely deserves more use here, and everywhere. Next time you make chicken soup, add a handful of chopped fresh dill. It’s wonderful. I’m no expert on North African food, so not sure it’s part of their culinary grab bag, but I’m making it more and more a part of mine. (It’s also great on this Cucumber Feta Salad.)

This dish really did “change my game,” as Melissa promised. It’s going into regular rotation at my house. Bonus points for being able to make the whole dinner on a single baking sheet. Hooray for that, too.

This recipe makes three servings, so you’ll have to fight who gets the leftover for lunch the next day.

FYI: I won.

Harissa Chicken

Adapted from Dinner: Changing the Game by Melissa Clark Harissa is a Moroccan hot sauce. You can find it in shops that specialize in North African and Middle Eastern foods. It's also available online and I've seen it in Trader Joe's in the U.S. You can also make your own. I have a recipe in My Paris Kitchen. You can substitute another chile paste or sauce, such as Piri-piri sauce. Since they all vary in heat, you can dial whatever you swap it out with, to suit your tastes. This is a fairly straightforward recipe and makes a quick dinner. If you want, the chicken and potatoes can be marinated in the sauce (in step #1) and refrigerated a few hours, or overnight, until you're ready to bake them. I used an 11 x 17-inch (27x43cm) rimmed baking sheet, which gave everything enough room to keep their distance from each other; if the chicken and potato pieces are too close, they'll "steam" rather than roast. When you add the leeks in step #5, it'll look like a lot, but they'll cook down. If using Morton kosher salt, cut the amount down by about one-third. I also swapped out a few of the potatoes with sweet potatoes to see how they cook, and they came out great. So feel free to substitute sweet potatoes for some, or all, of the regular potatoes.
Servings 3 servings
  • 2 tablespoons harissa
  • 4 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 teaspoons kosher or flaky sea salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 3 chicken thighs
  • 3 chicken legs
  • 1 1/2 pounds roasting potatoes, (such as Yukon Golds), peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch (4cm) cubes
  • 2 leeks, washed, sliced in half lengthwise, and thinly sliced crossways
  • grated zest of one lemon
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
  • lemon or lime juice
  • 1 cup (10-12g) a mix of fresh herbs, such as parsley, mint, dill, chervil, and tarragon, very coarsely chopped
  • In a large bowl, mix together the harissa, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, cumin, 2 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper. Add the chicken and potatoes, then rub the thighs and legs and potatoes with the marinade. Be sure to use your hands to rub the sauce under the skin of the chicken. Let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature.
  • In a medium bowl, toss the leeks together with the lemon zest, 1/4 of the salt, and the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil.
  • Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven.
  • Transfer the chicken and potatoes, and any sauce in the bowl, onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Arrange the chicken pieces so they are skin side up, and make sure the chicken parts and potatoes are in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes.
  • Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Toss the potatoes (so they can brown on the other sides of them) then strew the leeks over everything on the baking sheet. It may look like a lot, but they'll bake down.
  • Bake until the chicken is cooked through, another 20 to 25 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, in a small bowl, mix the yogurt with the garlic, the remaining salt and pepper, and a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice.
  • Remove the baking sheet from the oven and spoon the yogurt sauce in various places over the chicken and potatoes. Top with fresh herbs and serve.

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73 comments

    • Taste of France

    That does sound like a daring amount of harissa. Going to try it anyway!
    Dill is nearly impossible to find around here. When it shows up, it’s in delicate little bouquets (vs. the enormous clumps of cilantro and parsley that go for €1). Will have to plant some. My grandma had dill growing all over–it reseeded itself, and even grew in the cracks in her driveway. She used it to make pickles.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      We get lots of dill in Paris but I think it’s because people eat a lot of salmon and smoked salmon in Paris, as I’ve not seen it used much elsewhere. But yes, parsley and cilantro are always sold in huge bunches, as well as mint, too.

      • Myrna

      My family’s spanikopita recipe calls for lots of fresh dill in the spinach and feta mix. Fortunately my local green market has it in big bunches.

    • Beth

    One of our favorite family dinners! We make it regularly. But feel extra affirmed to see you making it David!

    • Kelly Monaghan

    In Step 6, surely you mean “mix the yogurt with the lemon ZEST and garlic”, n’est ce pas?

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      The zest actually gets mixed in with the leeks in step 4. A bit of juice gets mixed in the sauce, although in step 6, I used the word ‘juice” twice. Thanks for catching that.

    • Patricia

    Dill was a big flavour in my mother’s cooking (she was born in Ukraine). We had it on potatoes, in pickles, even in cabbage rolls. In the summer when the dill was plentiful in her garden she would made these savory buns stuffed with tiny cubes of salt pork, buckwheat and tons of dill. They were magnificent. I’m sad and ashamed to say I never managed to get a recipe out of my mother since she cooked off the cuff and without a recipe. Even the dough for the buns she made with feel. We ate many of those buns with cold glasses of buttermilk. Yum. Yum.

    • M. K.

    I can’t wait to make this! I’ve never even dreamed of pairing dill with chicken…thanks for the inspiration. Am away to Portugal tomorrow, and hoping to find a good spice market for some harissa, ral el hanout,cumin ++…Wheee!

    • Joan

    When I’m in Paris, I’m never sure which kind of potatoes would be a good substitute for Yukon Golds, which don’t seem to be available. Do you have any suggestions David? This dish looks easy and delicious. My kind of recipe!

    • katzcradul

    I’ve had a lot of videos pop-up recently on my facebook page that show people cooking in mass quantities, over and open fire, for an entire village, in third wold countries. The videos are fascinating. They cook a lot of chicken with copious amounts of dry spices and garlic/ginger paste. I’ve noticed that when they cook chicken legs, they always slice two gashes in the raw chicken before massaging in the spice. I wonder how that would work here, to get more spice into the meat or would it cause the juices to drain out? Just wondering.

      • Pranav

      Great observation! It’s done to have the spices marinate better in the meat. Just use a knife to slice few gashes.

    • David

    Next time you make a chicken curry, mix in a bunch of chopped dill. Excellent.

    • Ann

    I just got this book for my birthday and I LOVE IT. This sheet-pan chicken recipe is already one of my favorites. The fish tacos are also beloved by adults and kids alike. I could eat from this cookbook for the next year.

    • PF

    Nice recipe, and I love harissa. I’m going to assume I can add marinated chicken breasts with the leeks to cook in the last 20 minutes.

    • Vicki Bensinger

    Omg I have this book. How did I miss this beautiful dish! It looks wonderful and you’ve played it so perfectly. Thanks for sharing this. Now I’m going to pull her book off my shelf to try this.

      • Lyn

      Have you tried any recipes yet Vicki? I’d be interested to know

    • Karen

    I started using fresh dill more after visiting Istanbul, where it was used in all kinds of dishes, including just added to salad like another green. So good!

    • Joan

    To be modest (!), I am something of an expert on Nort African food: I spend time (shopping and cooking) in Morocco 4 r 5 times a year and although there is a massive use of spices and herbs, dill is not something i’ve seen much of. Aniseed is used in certain biscuits, but that’s the nearest to the dill flavour that I am aware of. I will definitely keep my eyes peeled next visit and ask my “informers”!!

      • Cherstinne

      Aniseed has absolutely nothing to do with dill!! it is a herb from Northern Europe and Russia. I have put a handful of chopped dill to flavor a tagine made with citrons confits. The combination is really heaven.

    • JOYCE MCKINNEY

    I’ve been making a version of this for a couple of years. It first appeared in, I think, the New York Times. My recipe calls for adding baby arugula over the finished chicken. Replacing or augmenting the arugula with mixed herbs sounds like a great idea. I use boneless skinless chicken thighs and Fingerling potatoes cut in half lengthwise. Everything cooks at about the same time. It is a huge hit with guests and it scales up—I’Ve served it to 12 people. Do add it to your rotation.

    • David
    David Lebovitz

    Joan: I find amandine potatoes good for roasting although if you buy them from a vendor at the market (some have a lot of varieties of potatoes for sale, and they know they all pretty well), ask them for advice on which are the best.

    katzcradul: I haven’t tried that but it sounds like it couldn’t hurt. If you do try it, let us know how it turns out.

    • Cherstinne

    Dill is wonderful and so so easy to grow at home. It is widely used in the Russian and East European kitchen and in particular all over Scandinavia. When boiling potatoes put plenty of dill on top of them and you will have a delicately perfumed potato to go with any dish and an absolute must with Scandinavian herring preparations. Plenty of dill is also used in the Swedish version of veal in a white sauce (blanquette de veau) I think sauce is of Russian origin – I have had it served there as a soup. It should also have vinegar essence(12%) in it – I have not found that outside Swedish delicatessen in Paris. A good deep frozen dill is sold at Picard. Dill can be used with every kind of fish chicken lamb eggs omelett. Merely watch out for it sticking on your teeth

      • BYRON CRAWFORD

      GREETINGS!!!WHAT IS THE E-MAIL ADDRESS FOR THE THE SWEDISH DELICATESSEN YOU MENTIONED?B.C..

    • Hillary

    Dill is wonderful with many root vegetables – carrots, new potatoes, etc. My mother always served new potatoes with butter and dill – so good. Recently I’ve started adding it to tomato soup. It’s also good in scrambled eggs! I have always heard that dill is so delicate (even dried) that it should be added just as you’re finishing cooking, as prolonged heat will destroy the flavor of it.

    Dill seeds are also wonderful – I always end up adding them to your shakshuka recipe in place of caraway seeds, which I never seem to have on hand!

    • Janet

    I accidentally bought dry harissa in a jar when I meant to grab Garam Masala. How can I adapt it for this recipe? Thanks!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Someone below mentioned they used dried harissa, mixing it with water and oil (which were the instructions on the box they purchased.) I think you could just add a bit of both to it, to make it a paste, and use that.

    • jeannine

    Dill is used extensivey in Greek cooking. When buying horta (greens to boil) the green grocer automatically adds dill to the purchase. It grows wild in the Med which also means California.

    • sharon

    Do you know where I can buy Harissa in the 5th or 6th arr.? I’m still a Paris shopping novice. thanks

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Most grocery stores in Paris carry it. Check the condiment aisle. It’s usually sold in small tins or tubes.

    • Sandra Alexander

    One comment mentions dill in chicken curry – yes, and also excellent in fish curry (eg Charmaine Solomon’s sour fish curry). All the other uses mentioned are great, especially the spanakopita. Love it in Swedish-ish meatballs, in mayonnaise, in egg salad. Advice to newbies – use it fresh, it gets rank after a day or two.

    • Shelli

    Harissa can vary quite a lot in heat depending on the brand. Where I used to use 2 tbls with one brand I use 2 tsp with another. Best to taste first and estimate your tolerance.

    • Susan B.

    I’ve made this several times. I think it’s much better with chicken legs than thighs. And I just use 1 Tablespoon of harissa because I am a wimp.

    • Bill Siroty

    “Next time you make chicken soup, add a handful of chopped fresh dill.” You can’t make a Jewish type chicken soup without dill, IMHO.

      • Ruth

      Totally agree. Mom always had dill in her herb packet and around here (Brooklyn, NY), most groceries sell all the veggies for Jewish style chicken soup and dill is always included.

      My neighborhood has a lot of Uzbek and Central Asian restaurants and I can definitely confirm that I don’t think they would be able to cook without copious amounts of fresh dill on hand.

    • Regina

    Have you ever tried Rose Petal Harrisa?! Takes the taste to a different level. Not so sure it would work with this dish, but I am going to give it a try. Thank you David for bringing this recipe to usl I look forward to your blog each week and love cooking your recipes.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I haven’t but I know people that add a little rose water to their harissa. I don’t like things that are overly rose water-flavored, but I think a bit would work nicely.

      • Fran

      Ooer, I’ve just made this recipe with rose petal harissa (I didn’t know there was another sort) – smells lovely, haven’t eaten it yet – fingers crossed!

    • Mary

    Made this tonight and it turned out to be delicious! Added some sweet potato as per David’s advice. I didn’t have harissa paste, I had the dried spice mix for harissa so I just mixed it as per instructions on the spice box with water and oil and then mixed again with the recipe ingredients and it was great. Just didn’t have the same hot red look. Was only able to find fresh parsley, tarragon and mint so added dried dill. Will make it again for sure!

    • Audrey

    Looks yummy. And easy to make just one serving. But I suppose it would be better to make two so there are left overs.

      • Lynne

      Leftovers are a must! I have a serving in the fridge from tonight’s meal and can’t wait to try it tomorrow.

    • Joan Huckins

    I made this a few months ago and immediately put fabulous at the top of the page. Funny, I had the powdered harissa (didn’t even know the paste existed) and used it as directed in the recipe. In other words, I did not make a paste out of it. None the wiser, it came out perfectly (looks beautiful too). One of my favorite recipes from Melissa’s book.

    • Cybele

    David, do you have any idea what breed(s) of chicken are sold in French markets? The French thigh/leg pieces look so skinny and rangy compared to my fat, locally raised hens but California chicken is tasteless and without any texture compared to French poulets.

      • Michelle

      I’m not David but look for chickens from Joyce farms. I live in NYC and can buy them at FreshDirect. They do ship nationwide— free range birds raised in NC they are as tasty as the chickens in France. Website is joycefarms.com

    • Natalia

    This looks delicious! We use a lot of dill in Polish cuisine, and one of my favorite dishes that has lots of dill in it is a cold betroot soup called chlodnik, based on kefir or buttermilk, salty and tangy, yum! There are few good recipes around the web, it’s a summer must try!

    • Lynne

    I made this tonight and it was amazing! I used Trader Joe’s harissa (the amount specified in the recipe) and the spice and heat level were perfect. I used only chicken thighs that I debones (kept the skin on). Next time I will put some olive oil in the pan first before adding the chicken and potatoes – my potatoes stuck in quite a few places. I used plain Greek yogurt for the sauce and grated the garlic on my fine Microplane. My husband says this is good enough for company, so it’s what I will make the next time we have a dinner party. Thanks for this excellent recipe, David!

    • Ttrockwood

    This book is AMAZING!!
    I just made the crispy leeks with farro and marinated chickpeas which sounds too virtuous and yet is the most delicious mix of flavors and textures. I had leftovers for lunch over some salad greens and it was almost better today than last night.
    I’ve been a melissa clark fan for years, her sheet pan dinners article in the NY Times years ago changed everything for me- such a brilliant simple technique

    • JohnG

    Fabulous dish, doubled the quantity and my 5 guests still couldn’t get enough. My new go-to chicken dinner :-)

    • Alexa

    Made this for dinner last night – thank you for the suggestion! I have Melissa’s cookbook but somehow hadn’t tried this one, and now it’s a favorite. A new go-to!

    • Joyce Agress

    Just bought the cookbook myself, and it is indeed a worthy addition to my shelf. I will try this recipe next!

    • Leslie Sobel

    Made this last night with boneless skinless thighs (because that’s what I had) and a mix of sweet potatoes and yellow finns – it was wonderful – will definitely be keeping it in regular rotation!

    • Valerie

    I made this last night, but I had to make a couple of changes. I couldn’t find harissa, so I substituted tamarind and date sauce with a tablespoon of sambal oelek. I also had to double the recipe, so I cooked the chicken and the yam and potatoes on separate pans. I added the leeks to the potatoes, and then tossed the yogurt, dill and lemon with the potatoes. I’m lucky to have lemon-infused olive oil on my shelf right now, and that’s the oil I added to the yogurt. Next time, (and there WILL be a next time!!), I’m looking forward to tossing the meat with the yogurt instead. And I will buy that cookbook! Thank you David!

      • Valerie

      Sorry – I added the lemon-infused olive oil to the leeks, not the yogurt…

    • Rosie

    Made this last night and it was fantastic. I only had boneless/skinless thighs so that is what I used and was shy one leek so used an eyeball amount of scallions to make up the difference. Super easy and the family loved it.

    • Maxim

    Dear David, thanks for this. I will try it in place of my easy go-to (oven fried chicken).

    • Mouse

    I usually hate subtitles like Changing The Game, but in this case it’s absolutely true. This book has transformed my cooking and this recipe was the thing that hooked me. Everything I’ve made from Dinner has been wonderful.

    • Oonagh

    Made this for dinner tonight and everyone loved it, thanks David. I realised too late that I had no leeks, but it seemed to me that the lemon zest was an important addition so I used a white onion instead and put it in with the chicken. It was still delicious.

    • Liz

    I made this for dinner this evening for 2 adults and 2 kids. It went down fairly well with minimal whinging about the leeks – never popular in our house. I live near Paris and used the same harissa as in your photos, David – we didn’t find it that spicy after cooking, although my husband is a big chilli fan and we have about 10 variants of hot sauce on the go at any moment! Did a whole chicken jointed by the butcher and doubled everything else, on 2 baking trays. Herbs were: basil and chives from local growers at Montesson, a bit of dill and coriander from those supermarket packets. I love the soft, intense green flavour from using much greater quantities of herbs than I’m used to. I’m not fond of lemon zest in savoury dishes so I might skip that next time and add mint, once our garden mint gets going. I thought I could make this ahead and eat at room temp, or plan for leftovers by adding the sauce and herbs to each plate individually, and leaving the rest to rewarm or maybe eat cold the next day. This is the first time I’ve made one of your savoury recipes, many thanks!

    • Kirsten Herold

    for those who enjoy the chicken dill combo, the very good Norwegian cook, Andreas Vierstad, has a recipe for roast chicken stuffed with dill in his cookbook, the Kitchen of Light. It is easy and delicious.

    • Bob Knudson

    At my local grocery store, the leeks are available in quite different sizes. I don’t suppose it makes much of a difference exactly how much is used in this recipe, but could you give an estimate of how many leeks to buy, in pounds?

    Thanks, David. It looks yummy!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I never weighed a leek but you could use two of any size. (Baby leeks are a lot smaller, but I just used regular leeks.) The recipe is pretty flexible – enjoy it!

    • Danita

    I made this yesterday and used a dry Harissa spice blend from Spice Market at Pikes Market in Seattle. I used two large bone in, skin on chicken breast cut in half as suggested. I cooked the potatoes 20 min then added the chicken and leeks for 25 mins. It was delicious. I let the potatoes/chicken marinate for 4-5 hours in the frig prior to baking.

    • Russ

    This was great. Instead of legs we used thighs. And we went with the suggestion of sweet potatoes, which added a nice balance to the savory/spicy chicken. Great as leftovers too.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Happy you liked it, too! I thought the sweet potatoes were really great with it as well.

    • Cristina

    Wow! This is really a game changer, just as described. I used baby potatoes (to avoid peeling them) and am guilty of “crowding” a bit too much, but find that using the convection fan (with a small reduction in temp) helps to mitigate any steaming. Everything came out crispy and so flavourful. Only thing I’ll do next time is add a tiny bit of water to the yogurt (we used thick Greek yogurt) to make it slightly more runny and therefore easier to drop all over. Otherwise this recipe is perfect.

    • mothers little hleper

    I tried this out and it was delicious. going to make it again tonight.

    • abby nash

    Hands down keeper. I made it twice in a week. Loved it as did my foodie guests. 1st time I forgot to buy leeks, so I thinly sliced a LG onion, which I put in the pan atop a bit of olive oil, then proceeded w/ the recipe. Loved it so much I was curious to follow the recipe w/ leeks so I made it again. No appreciable difference, the onion version slightly more convenient (and we all worship the god of convenience, right?). Merci, Dave!

    • Jane

    Hi David, Made this for a party last week and it was a great hit! I did fix a second pan for those who don’t enjoy the heat so much, mixing the harissa with a heaping Tb. of Greek yogurt. That batch turned out more moist/tender, still delicious, just less fiery. Got a copy of Melissa Clark’s cookbook and am happily putting sticky notes on recipes to try. Thanks so much!

    • Cynthia Bush

    HI David, I live a long way away from European or American markets and I don’t think I have ever seen harissa on any of my supermarket shelves. However I do make my own version, this is my recipe for Harissa:
    250 gm fresh chillies
    1 head garlic
    approx. 80gm tomato paste
    1 tbsp ground coriander
    1 tbsp ground caraway seeds
    1 tbsp cumin
    ½ tbsp sugar
    1 tbsp salt
    Olive or sunflower oil

    Finely chop chillies, then blend all ingredients in a food processor, using enough oil to make a stiffish paste.
    Store in a jar, covered with a thin film of oil for several months.
    Are you able to ‘guessimate’ if 2tbsp of my paste would be comparable to what the recipe requires?
    Also I really appreciate that you put grams and millilitres on all your quantities. It unites all the world’s cookers. Kind regards.

    • Lyn

    This post is a reminder to me of how much I appreciate your blog. The script, directions, photographs and humorous asides enlighten and elevate my spirits. BUT further more, the replies and banter from your followers is simply wonderful. Not only do I learn from you David, I also learn from them. I particularly like it when contributors mention where in the world they are. I have ordered Melissa Clark’s book.
    Oh and btw – I am in Yorkshire

    • Elaine Vaughan

    I second how great this cookbook is! I waited in the library queue for months, and then ended up buying it because there were so many promising recipes. Loved her Japanese omelet (posted today on my blog), and am making her Sesame Chicken tonight!

    • Scott

    Hi David, I made this last night and it was excellent. The amount of harissa was just right for the amount of chicken and potatoes.
    I’ve loved Melissa Clark from a far… maybe it’s time to commit and get her book. :-)

    • Michael

    Made this again tonight (3rd time). A really terrific recipe.

A

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