This is one of our house favorites. Funny thing is, I open the original recipe every time I make it, but I’ve never once followed its ingredient list.
I skip the dates and pistachios because we often don’t have those at home. Raisins and sweet potatoes add the touch of sweetness in place of the dates. And with the sweet potatoes, you get some additional nutrients and fiber. I also added smoked paprika and cinnamon because we love a good mix of spices.
Harissa can be a bit spicy, and so I’m often navigating the spice wars in our house. We have one little guy that prefers no spice right now. It’s easy to meet a variety of spice thresholds with this dish by varying the amount of harissa rubbed into each piece of chicken. For us that means some chicken is plain. When I add the remaining harissa to the rice, I’m careful to mix it in to only half of the pot, and that’s the half that will get the harissa-topped chicken. This method works really well, and leaves everyone in our house satisfied.
One Pot Moroccan Chicken and Rice
- olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- salt
- 8 pieces bone-in, skin-on thighs and/or drumsticks
- 2-4 Tbs harissa
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup basmati rice, rinsed until water is clear
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 orange
- 1 sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 1/2 cups water
- Preheat the oven to 375.
- In an oven-proof skillet over medium high heat, add about 2 Tbsp olive oil. When the oil is warm, reduce the heat slightly, and add the onions and a pinch of salt. Sauté until the onions are soft and translucent.
- While the onions are cooking, coat the chicken with about half of the harissa.
- Add the garlic to the onions and stir. Then add the spices and the remaining harissa to taste (more or less depending upon your spice preference). Stir to coat the onions with the spices and harissa.
- Add the rice and stir until the grains are glistening. Add the orange zest & juice. Add the sweet potato and raisins. Stir to combine.
- Nestle the chicken over the top of the rice mixture. Pour the water into the pan.
- Cook uncovered in the oven for about 45-60 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Enjoy!