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Harissa Chicken Meatballs

Course Main Course
Cuisine Mediterranean
Keyword chicken
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 4
Author Christine Ma

Ingredients

Roasted cauliflower hummus

  • 3 cups cauliflower
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • ¼ cup tahini
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • 14 ounces canned cannellini beans plus ¼ cup of the liquid
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Rice pilaf

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • ½ medium onion chopped
  • 2 garlic minced
  • 1 cup rice
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 1 ½ cup chicken broth

Harissa

  • 2 dried guajillo chilies
  • 1 dried ancho chile
  • 5 dried chile de arbol
  • 1 roasted red bell pepper
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • juice of ½ lemon
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

Harissa chicken meatballs

  • 1 lb ground chicken
  • 1 tablespoon fresh dill chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
  • ¼ cup onion grated
  • 2 tablespoon cilantro chopped
  • ¼ cup panko

Remaining ingredients

  • 1 small cucumber sliced
  • 1 avocado sliced
  • 2 tomatoes diced
  • ½ cup feta crumbled
  • ¼ cup fresh dill chopped
  • ¼ cup parsley chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Toss the cauliflower with 2 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread the cauliflower and garlic cloves on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes or until lightly charred.
  • In a food processor or blender, blend the cauliflower and roasted garlic with tahini, lemon, beans, and ¼ cup liquid from the beans. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and transfer the hummus to a bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil on top and set aside.
  • Make the rice pilaf. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onion until translucent and softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and rice and saute for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add the white wine and bring it to a boil. Continue to simmer until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the rice is done. Keep warm.
  • Make the harissa. Put the dried guajillo, ancho, and chile de arbol in a bowl and pour enough boiling water to cover the chilies. Place a plate on top to keep the chilies submerged and let soak for 30 minutes. Drain the water and remove the stems and seeds.
  • Blend the rehydrated chilies with the remaining ingredients for the harissa (roasted red bell pepper - black pepper) in a blender or food processor until smooth.
  • Combine the ground chicken with 3 tablespoon of the harissa, dill, parsley, grated onion, cilantro, and panko. Reserve the remaining harissa for another time. Shape the ground chicken into meatballs. Drizzle oil on a baking sheet and arrange the meatballs on the sheet pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until browned.
  • Assemble the harissa chicken meatball bowls. Portion the rice into four bowls and top with the meatballs, cucumber, avocado, tomato, feta, fresh dill, and parsley. Serve with cauliflower hummus.