Harissa-Rubbed Chicken Thighs with Charred Cucumber and Carrot Salad
By Joe GitterPublished on August 19, 2025
Time
1 hour
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
If your chicken thighs are larger than 5 to 7 ounces each, use fewer of them to maintain a total weight of 2½ to 3½ pounds; adjust cooking time as needed. You will need a 12‐inch ovensafe skillet for this recipe.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 1 small minced shallot, 1 teaspoon toasted and cracked caraway seeds, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, and ¼ teaspoon table salt together in large bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil. Add 1 pound peeled and shaved carrots and toss until well coated; set aside.
- Heat 12‐inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and arrange 1 halved and sliced English cucumber cut side down in skillet (skillet will be full). Cook, moving cucumber as little as possible, until charred on first side, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip cucumber and continue to cook until charred on second side, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with carrots and set aside.
- Pat 8 (5- to 7‐ounce) trimmed bone-in chicken thighs dry with paper towels and sprinkle flesh side with remaining ¾ teaspoon table salt. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken skin side down and cook until well browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Off heat, flip chicken and brush 1 tablespoon harissa evenly over skin. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until chicken registers 175 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to serving platter and let rest while finishing salad. Add ½ cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives, ¼ cup toasted and chopped walnuts, and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill to bowl with carrots and cucumber and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve chicken with salad.
Time
1 hourYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
There is perhaps nothing more delicious than pan-seared and then roasted chicken thighs burnished a deep mahogany brown with crispy skin. Here, a skillet pulls double duty: creating an unusual side dish of deeply charred yet still tender cucumber chunks and also taking the chicken thighs from stovetop to oven in a classic pan-roasting technique. We brush the chicken skin with a little harissa, the spiced North African chili paste, but only after the initial sear, so the skin darkens beautifully in the oven and it also prevents the harissa from burning. To transform the humble cucumber, we cut it on the bias into large pieces and cook it in the hot, dry preheated pan, preserving its essential interior freshness while adding a layer of complex, smoky char—something a cast-iron skillet does exceptionally well. We transform carrots by shaving them into thin ribbons whose raw crunch is softened by marinating in a concentrated, caraway-laced dressing. The acidity of the vinegar and the sweetness of the carrots and cucumber in the salad balance the spicy richness of the chicken. Some briny olives, crunchy walnuts, and fresh dill add a variety of textures and flavors to complete this one-pan, weeknight-friendly meal.
Before You Begin
If your chicken thighs are larger than 5 to 7 ounces each, use fewer of them to maintain a total weight of 2½ to 3½ pounds; adjust cooking time as needed. You will need a 12‐inch ovensafe skillet for this recipe.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 1 small minced shallot, 1 teaspoon toasted and cracked caraway seeds, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, and ¼ teaspoon table salt together in large bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil. Add 1 pound peeled and shaved carrots and toss until well coated; set aside.
- Heat 12‐inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and arrange 1 halved and sliced English cucumber cut side down in skillet (skillet will be full). Cook, moving cucumber as little as possible, until charred on first side, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip cucumber and continue to cook until charred on second side, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with carrots and set aside.
- Pat 8 (5- to 7‐ounce) trimmed bone-in chicken thighs dry with paper towels and sprinkle flesh side with remaining ¾ teaspoon table salt. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken skin side down and cook until well browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Off heat, flip chicken and brush 1 tablespoon harissa evenly over skin. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until chicken registers 175 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to serving platter and let rest while finishing salad. Add ½ cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives, ¼ cup toasted and chopped walnuts, and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill to bowl with carrots and cucumber and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve chicken with salad.
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