Harissa-Marinated Chicken with Red Grapefruit Salad

Very, very nice! As often the case with chicken, ours wasn't done when it was meant to be done, so we had to put it back in the oven for another 10-12 minutes. I'm normally not a fan of grapefruits, but in this salad I found they were actually quite nice! DH thought that using rocket salad only was possibly a bit boring; we might consider mixing it with another, similarly peppery salad next time - perhaps watercress?

Also, seconding QueezleSister that you can probably get by with half the amount of sauce, and that it's a bit of a pity of the maple syrup. This is actually the second time I made this; the first time I used a very cheap, maple-flavoured carob syrup which I was quite happy to get rid of, but that lack of quality didn't seem to have any effect on how good the sauce was. (Disclaimer: even the second time I only used a maple-flavoured syrup, but one that tastes relatively authentic to me. But then again, I'm not Canadian, so what would I know? :) ).

I could also see this as a very fancy appetizer or side dish, if you use only half the amount of meat.

This recipe is as good as Zosia said. I prepared it with store-bought harissa (my bad, but I had the jar in the fridge), and greek yogurt. So easy to get the chicken marinating and then cooking. The sauce took a bit longer. I suggest you get the sauce reducing before putting the chicken into the oven. In typical Ottolenghi style, this recipe will produce a flavor explosion in your mouth. Note that one could probably get by with 1/2 the sauce, or even less maybe. I don't like using so much maple syrup!

Delicious spicy chicken with a bright, fruity sauce and simple salad to cut the heat.

This is a great dish for a weeknight supper as the chicken must marinate overnight in the harissa so is prepared in advance; actual cooking time is short and the salad and sauce can be made easily in the time it takes the chicken to cook.

The harissa marinade is simple to make and was even easier for me as I had roasted red peppers that I’d prepared in the summer in the freezer. It has a much more complex and well rounded flavour than the store bought brand I have but you could probably use the stuff in a jar in a pinch (and probably jarred roasted peppers as well).

I’m the only one in my family who likes grapefruit and this simple salad didn’t win any converts but everyone loved the tangy grapefruit-maple sauce and the chicken. I enjoyed all of the components together, especially the bites of peppery arugula that included a little of the sauce.