Honey and harissa roast chicken with lemon recipe

You don’t have to serve this with charred lemon halves but they do look good and the juice is slightly smoky. Couscous is the best side dish – toss it with herbs, olive oil and drained chickpeas.

Prep time: 10 minutes, plus 1 hour marinating time | Cooking time: 40 minutes

SERVES

Four

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp harissa

• 3 tbsp honey

• 2 garlic cloves, grated to a purée

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 4 chicken thighs, skin on

• 4 chicken drumsticks, skin on

• 4 lemon halves

METHOD

1. Mix the harissa, honey, garlic and lemon juice in a dish big enough to marinate the chicken.

2. Trim the excess skin on the chicken thighs. Put all the chicken into the dish, cover loosely with cling film and put in the fridge for an hour or so (longer if you have the time).

3. Preheat the oven to 190C/180C fan*/gas mark 5.

4. Transfer the chicken to a roasting tin or an oven tray with a lip all the way round. It’s important that the chicken lies in a single layer and that there isn’t too much space around the pieces. Roast for 40 minutes, basting the chicken every so often.

5. In the last five minutes of cooking time, heat a frying pan until very hot and put the lemon halves into it (you don’t need any oil). Let them cook until they begin to char, about 5 minutes. Serve the chicken with the scorched lemon halves.

*Diana’s conversions may differ slightly from the standard