Nati's Honey-Harissa Chicken with Sprouted Brown Rice Pilaf
Chicken breasts filled and glazed with honey, harissa, ginger, and lemon, seared and finished in the oven, then served over a jewel-studded sprouted brown rice pilaf with orange, pistachios, almonds, and dried fruit.
North African-inspired
Yield: Serves 6 · Active: 30 min · Total: 1 hr 15 min · Year-round · Best eaten: midday or early evening
Ingredients
Sprouted brown rice pilaf
4 cups chicken bone broth
2 cups sprouted (germinated) brown rice
1–1½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
1 Ceylon cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp grass-fed ghee
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely grated orange zest
1 tbsp raw honey
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
¼ cup pistachios
¼ cup slivered almonds
¼ cup dried goji berries
¼ cup unsulfured sultanas (golden raisins)
¼ cup dried cranberries (sweetened with apple juice, not sugar)
Honey-harissa chicken
¼ cup raw honey
2 tbsp harissa paste
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp Baja Gold sea salt
¼ tsp ground turmeric
⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 pasture-raised boneless chicken breasts
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Grain-free option: Serve the chicken over cauliflower rice tossed with the orange-spiced onions, nuts, dried fruit, and parsley.
Method
Cook the rice. Bring the broth to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan, then stir in the rice and salt, and add the cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer 25 minutes, until tender. Remove the cinnamon and bay, and drain any extra liquid.
Make the spiced onions. Meanwhile, melt the ghee in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion 6 minutes, until translucent. Stir in the orange zest, honey, cumin, and turmeric, and cook 2 minutes more.
Finish the pilaf. Stir the onions into the rice, and let it cool slightly. Fold in the parsley, pistachios, almonds, goji berries, sultanas, and cranberries.
Make the honey-harissa glaze. Whisk the honey, harissa, ginger, salt, turmeric, pepper, and lemon zest and juice until smooth.
Fill the chicken. Heat the oven to 425°F. Cut a 2-inch slit into the side of each chicken breast to form a pocket, spoon about 1 tbsp of the glaze inside, and brush the rest over the tops.
Sear and roast. Heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, and sear the chicken 4–5 minutes per side, until deeply golden (lower the heat if the honey starts to scorch). Move the skillet to the oven and roast 8–10 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165°F. (Or grill over medium heat, turning occasionally, until it reaches 165°F.)
Serve. Slice the chicken, and serve it over the warm pilaf, spooned with the pan juices.
Storage
The chicken keeps refrigerated up to 3 days, and the pilaf up to 4 days. The pilaf is even better on the second day, as the flavors meld.
A note on honey: The honey is cooked here, so it's no longer raw. Honey shouldn't be given to babies under 12 months.
Nourishment Notes
Pasture-raised chicken — complete protein, B vitamins, selenium, and niacin.
Harissa — a North African chile paste of red chiles, garlic, and spices like caraway and coriander, bringing capsaicin and vitamin C.
Sprouted brown rice — sprouting begins to break down phytic acid, so its magnesium, manganese, and B vitamins are easier to absorb.
Goji berries, sultanas, and cranberries — polyphenols, potassium, and natural sweetness.
Pistachios and almonds — vitamin E, magnesium, B6, and healthy fats.
Orange zest and lemon — vitamin C and d-limonene.
Ginger and turmeric — gingerols and curcumin, with black pepper to help your body absorb the curcumin.
Grass-fed ghee — vitamins A and K2, and butyrate.
For your cycle: The warming spices and steady carbohydrates make this grounding in the luteal phase, and ginger is well studied for easing menstrual cramps.
Sourcing
Chicken — pasture-raised, from a local farm or White Oak Pastures
Sprouted brown rice — organic and sprouted, like TruRoots
Harissa paste — made with chiles, garlic, spices, and olive oil, with no seed oils or preservatives (check the label), like Mina
Pistachios and almonds — organic, California or Sicilian pistachios; unpasteurized Spanish almonds, like Terrasoul's
Goji berries, sultanas, and cranberries — organic and unsulfured, with cranberries sweetened with apple juice rather than sugar
Onions, ginger, parsley, oranges, and lemons — organic (you're using the zest)
Bone broth — homemade, or Bonafide Provisions (organic, sold frozen)
Raw honey — organic, local, and unfiltered
Ghee — grass-fed
Spices — organic and non-irradiated (Ceylon cinnamon from Sri Lanka)
Extra virgin olive oil — organic, single-estate, harvest-dated, in dark glass
Salt — Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall