Harissa Roast Chicken with Crunchy California Grapes and Celery Salad & Tahini

Name: Harissa Roast Chicken with Crunchy California Grapes and Celery Salad & Tahini
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 310 min
Ingredients: ¼ cup roughly chopped raw and unsalted walnuts; ¼ cup raw and unsalted sunflower seeds; ¼ cup raw sesame seeds; 1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard (substitute Dijon mustard); 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar; 1 tablespoon honey; 1 clove garlic (finely grated); ¼ teaspoon kosher salt; ¼ teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 stalks celery (thinly sliced on a bias); 2 Persian cucumbers (seeds removed and thinly sliced on a bias); ½ white onion (thinly sliced); 1 cup red and green Grapes from California (halved); ½ cup 100% pure toasted sesame seed paste (AKA tahini); 1 clove garlic (finely grated); 1 tablespoon lemon juice; ¼ teaspoon kosher salt; ½ cup ice cold water (plus more as needed); 1 tablespoon harissa paste; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon honey; 4 cloves garlic (finely grated); 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; 1 teaspoon smoked paprika; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; ½ teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper; 2 bone-in and skin-on chicken quarters (substitute bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs, drumsticks or breasts)

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This Harissa Roast Chicken with Crunchy California Grapes and Celery Salad & Tahini has the looks of a gourmet dinner party but is easy enough to throw together on a weeknight. Most of the cooking time is hands off and the prep work, like marinating the chicken and making the tahini sauce, can be done in advance or while the chicken’s in the oven. The harissa roast chicken is super versatile, deeply flavourful and can be served with any number of sides but it’s especially good with this Crunchy Grape and Celery Salad situation. The combination of textures, sweetness and juiciness pairs perfectly alongside the spicy and earthy notes in the marinade.

Harissa Roast Chicken with Crunchy California Grapes and Celery Salad and Tahini

Why You’ll Love This Harissa Roast Chicken

Bold Flavours: Spicy harissa, sweet grapes, nutty tahini, and fresh celery make every bite exciting.
Looks Fancy But Easy to Make: This dish presents beautifully on the plate and will have your house smelling incredible.
Meal-Prep Friendly: Roast chicken is excellent the first night and leftovers can be repurposed in a variety of ways, from wraps to grain bowls.
Nutrient-Dense: Packed with lean protein, healthy fats, and antioxidants.

Ingredients You Need for the Harissa Roast Chicken

Chicken: I used bone-in and skin-on chicken quarters here because they’re my favourite cut. Juicy, fatty, rich and nearly impossible to overcook. Not to mention affordable and present very well on the plate. If you like, you can substitute just the drumsticks, just the thighs, just the breast, just the wings or even a whole chicken.

Whichever route you go, I recommend using bone-in and skin-on so that you end up with a juicier finished product and deeply caramelized skin. If using boneless and skinless, keep in mind that your cooking times will be faster so keep an eye on it and use a meat thermometer.
Harissa: This spicy North African chili paste is a flavour powerhouse does most of the heavy lifting in this recipe. The flavour and texture of harissa varies greatly depending on the brand and country of origin. Tunisian Harissa du Cap Bon is thick like tomato paste, usually very spicy and has a strong aromatic profile. Moroccan Harissa, like the one from Mina brand, is more loose and oily, similar to a Calabrian chili oil or Bomba Calabrese.

I used Mina harissa here because that’s the only one I had available at the time. If I were to use a thick, Tunisian-style harissa, I would use half the amount called for in the recipe and then loosen it with equal parts extra-virgin olive oil so that it coats the chicken more evenly.
Honey: A drizzle of honey will help balance the spice in the marinade and give the harissa roast chicken a beautiful, caramelized skin as it roasts in the oven.
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: You don’t need a lot, just enough to help evenly distribute the marinade so it coats the chicken.
Garlic: As always, measure this ingredient with your heart and don’t let anyone tell you there’s such a thing as too much!
Spices: A simple combination of ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, echo the flavours in the harissa. The idea is to compliment the flavours without overpowering them. Otherwise it just ends up tasting like any old run-of-the-mill spicy chicken.

chicken marinating in a blend of harissa paste and spices

For the Crunchy Grape and Celery Salad:

California Grapes: Don’t skip the grapes! They give the salad a delicious and unexpected pop of juiciness. You can use red, green or a combination of the two. I look for firm, crunchy grapes so they hold their shape and texture in the salad. I also recommend tasting them first before making the salad dressing. If the grapes are sweet, you can get away with using less honey in the vinaigrette. If they’re on the sour and acidic side, you might want to use more honey.
Celery: I like to slice the celery stalks thinly and on a bias so you get longer pieces that can bend and sway as you toss them in the vinaigrette. Sometimes I use a vegetable peeler to peel off the fibrous strings that run along the back of the celery stalks. Sometimes I don’t. It depends on how “chefy” I’m feeling that day and how much work I want to give myself. I find that as long as you slice the celery thinly, it’s hardly noticeable.
Cucumber: You can use Persian, English or field cucumbers here. If using the latter, you might need to peel the bitter skin first depending on their taste. It’s not entirely necessary, but you can also slice the cucumbers in half, lengthwise, and scoop out the inner seeds with a spoon for a less watery salad. Slice it to a similar size as the celery. Again, this comes down to how “chefy” I’m feeling.
Onion: Red, yellow or white onion works here. I like to slice it thin to keep with the overall look of the salad. If the onion is super bitter, you can soak it in a bowl of ice water after slicing to mellow out the flavours. Just pat it dry with paper towel before adding it to the salad.
Apple Cider Vinaigrette: A very simple yet delicious apple cider vinaigrette echoes the fruitiness of the grapes and delivers just the right amount of acidity to balance the richness of the harissa roast chicken. I use a ratio of 1 part acid to 3 parts oil for this particular salad.
Toasted Nuts and Seeds: I like to top the salad with a combination of toasted walnuts, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds. You can add them to a sheet pan and toast them in the oven while it preheats for the chicken. Or, you can toast the nuts and seeds in a dry skillet over a medium-low flame until they’re golden and fragrant. This can also be done up to a week in advance and stored in an air-tight container. The nuts and seeds give the salad a delicious flavour, texture and aroma and also echo the nuttiness of the tahini sauce.

Crunchy California Grapes and Celery Salad

For the Tahini Sauce:

Tahini: Look for one made from 100% pure toasted sesame seeds and salt. It shouldn’t have any other ingredients, oils or fillers.
Lemon juice: Freshly-squeezed will give you the best flavour and aroma.
Garlic: This is maybe the only time I will tell you to use just 1 clove of garlic. I also recommend finely grating it with a microplane (AKA rasp grated) so that it’s very fine and blends into the sauce.
Cold water: It’s important to use very cold water here. It helps create a smoother tahini.
Salt: A little goes a long way here so add just a pinch at the beginning and then season again to taste if needed after you’re finished making the sauce.

What is Harissa and Which One to Use?

Harissa is a North African chili paste made with dried or fresh chilies, garlic, olive oil, and spices like cumin, coriander, and caraway. It’s smoky, spicy, aromatic and often used in Tunisian, Moroccan, and Algerian cooking.

Harissa ranges from mild heat to burn-your-face-off spicy depending on the brand or blend you use.

Unfortunately, it’s not the most available ingredient so you might have to go to a few stores before you find it. My first stop would be a local Middle Eastern grocer. If that fails, you can try to order it online.

Probably the most common brand I’ve come across in Miami, and America in general, is Mina, which leans heavily towards a Morrocan-style harissa. It’s much more oily and loose in texture (think Calabrian chili oil) than a Tunisian-style Harissa du Cap Bon, which is far more concentrated and thick in texture (think concentrated tomato paste) with a far more pronounced spice and heat profile.

For this recipe, I used Mina harissa. If I were using a Tunisian harissa, I would use half the amount called for in the recipe and loosen it with more olive oil so that it coats the chicken more evenly.

Tahini vs Tahini Sauce – there’s a difference

Tahini is a paste made from ground, toasted sesame seeds. It’s thick, creamy, and can taste slightly bitter on its own. Think of it like peanut butter, but made with toasted sesame seeds.

Tahini sauce, on the other hand, is what you get when you mix tahini with other ingredients – most commonly lemon juice, garlic, water, and salt. The water lightens its texture, making it looser, and the lemon/garlic balance out the bitterness. It’s a condiment or sauce made from the paste, as opposed to just the paste on its own.

Sometimes tahini sauce is just called tahini even though it has additional ingredients than just the sesame seed paste. I’m taking the time to spell this out because I don’t want you to just pour some tahini on your plate directly from the jar. You need to make the sauce first!

The good news is tahini sauce is one of the easiest and most delicious things you can learn to make. It pairs incredibly well with a variety of proteins, salads or veggies, has 4 ingredients, not counting water, and could not be more forgiving.

If you add too much sesame seed paste, just add more water. If you add too much water, just add more sesame seed paste. Once you find the right consistency, taste it for seasoning and adjust with garlic, lemon juice and salt as desired. Keep it in a sealed jar and it will last around a week in the fridge.

How to Cook the Chicken

In the Oven: I recommend placing the chicken on a sheet pan lined with a wire rack. Placing the chicken on the rack allows for hot air to flow underneath it, resulting in a more evenly cooked bird and less steam, which translates into more browning, which translates into more flavour. The wire rack also helps elevate the chicken and keep it away from all of the marinade juices that will inevitably burn and scorch on the sheet pan as they render.

On the Traeger: Preheat your Traeger Grill to 425F and cook the chicken on the lowest grill grates, skin side-up at first. Once the thickest part of the chicken reaches around 150F, flip it over and cook the skin side until it gets a light char and the thickest part of the meat registers 180F. Note: if using breast, cook the chicken to 160F.

On a Gas or Charcoal Grill: Setup a two-zone fire with direct and indirect medium-high heat, around 425F. Cook the chicken over indirect heat first for around 45 minutes or until the thickest part of the chicken reaches around 160F. Then transfer the chicken to the direct heat side of the grill and cook, flipping once or twice, until the skin is lightly charred and the thickest part of the chicken reaches 180F.

Best Internal Temperature for Dark Meat Chicken

Contrary to popular belief, dark meat chicken (thigh, drumstick and wing) benefits from a slightly higher cooking temperature than light meat chicken (breast).

Breast, by and large, should be cooked to 160F and then left to rest before slicing or serving to allow for the residual heat to continue raising the internal temperature to 165F for safe consumption.

Dark meat, on the other hand benefits from a slightly higher internal temperature because it allows for more of the collagen and connective tissue to break down. Dark meat can also be cooked to a slightly higher internal temperature without risk of it drying out because it has more fat, which helps the meat stay juicy.

So, if you’re using chicken breast in this recipe, you should cook it to 160F. If using dark meat, like quarters, cook it to 180F. Then let it rest off the heat for a few minutes to help the juices redistribute and for the residual heat to carry the internal temperature up an additional 5 degrees.

Substitution Ideas

Chicken: Use bone-in and skin-on thighs, drumsticks, breast, wings or even a whole spatchcocked chicken. You can also use Cornish hen if you like.
Harissa: I mean, you’ll have to give the recipe a different name if you substitute this ingredient, but you can substitute any chile paste you like or use a combination of dried spices like cayenne pepper, spicy paprika, chipotle powder. The flavour will also be very different than what I’m sharing here.
Tahini: A garlicky yogurt sauce or tzaziki would work well with this combination.

For Best Results!

Pat the chicken dry before marinating it so that the flavours aren’t diluted and you end up with a crispier skin.
Let it marinate overnight if you have the time or at least a couple hours.
Toss the salad in the dressing before serving so the celery and grapes stay crunchy.

What to Serve with the Harissa Roast Chicken

Crunchy California Grapes and Celery Salad
Tahini
Basmati Rice
Fresh and warm homemade Flatbread
Roast Potatoes

Reheating Suggestions

Chicken: Reheat leftover Harissa Roast Chicken in the oven at 350°F until warmed through, about 10–15 minutes.
Salad: Best enjoyed fresh, but you can store it in the fridge for up to 2 days. Toss again before serving.
Tahini Sauce: Store in a jar in the fridge for up to 5 days. Add a splash of water and whisk to loosen before serving.

Recipe FAQs

Can I make this ahead of time?

Yes! You can marinate the chicken up to 24 hours in advance and prep the tahini sauce and salad earlier in the day. I recommend dressing the salad with the vinaigrette just before serving.

Is harissa very spicy?

It depends on the brand. Start with a little and build up to your heat preference. Mina also sells a mild harissa that is not very spicy.

Can I grill the chicken instead of roasting?

Absolutely. See above notes for grilling instructions. This chicken recipe is especially good on the Traeger because it picks up some wood-fired flavour.

Looking for More Ways to Enjoy Grapes?

This recipe was created in partnership with the California Table Grape Commission. All opinions expressed here are the author’s alone.

About the Author

Hi, i’m Ronny! In 2013, after a lifetime of struggling with my weight and body issues, I rehabilitated my relationship with food, lost over 40 pounds and completely changed my life.

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