Potato marka with chicken and harissa

Name: Potato marka with chicken and harissa
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Tunisian Jewish
Ingredients: 400 g Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot) (Skinless pargiyot, cut into 4 cm pieces by the kosher butcher); 450 g Potatoes (3 medium all-purpose or floury potatoes (not waxy: they need to absorb the sauce)); 120 g Yellow onions (1 medium onion); 15 g Garlic (3 cloves); 60 g Double-concentrated tomato purée (3 tbsp); 25 g Harissa (1 heaped tbsp; 15 g for mild heat); 4 g Tabil (Tunisian coriander, caraway, garlic and chilli spice blend) (1 heaped tsp, a salt-free blend); 1.5 g Turmeric (1/2 tsp); 4 g Sweet paprika (2 level tsp); 45 g Extra virgin olive oil (4 tbsp and 1 tsp: 2 tbsp for browning the chicken, the rest for the onion and tomato purée); 7 g Fine salt (1 g for the chicken, 6 g in the sauce; taste and adjust the sauce before resting); 0.5 g Ground black pepper (1/4 tsp); 350 g Water (Hot; keep an extra 100 g hot water to hand, not included in the quantity); 10 g Fresh coriander (A few sprigs, finely chopped to serve); 120 g Bread (baguette or country loaf) (For mopping up the sauce)

meat Tunisian Jewish · regular · 65 min, including 30 hands-on

A red stew scented with garlic, tomato and coriander, with juicy chicken thighs and potato wedges that absorb a reduced, deep red sauce.

Ingredients for two

400 g	Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot) Skinless pargiyot, cut into 4 cm pieces by the kosher butcher
450 g	Potatoes 3 medium all-purpose or floury potatoes (not waxy: they need to absorb the sauce)
120 g	Yellow onions 1 medium onion
15 g	Garlic 3 cloves
60 g	Double-concentrated tomato purée 3 tbsp
25 g	Harissa 1 heaped tbsp; 15 g for mild heat
4 g	Tabil (Tunisian coriander, caraway, garlic and chilli spice blend) 1 heaped tsp, a salt-free blend
1.5 g	Turmeric 1/2 tsp
4 g	Sweet paprika 2 level tsp
45 g	Extra virgin olive oil 4 tbsp and 1 tsp: 2 tbsp for browning the chicken, the rest for the onion and tomato purée
7 g	Fine salt 1 g for the chicken, 6 g in the sauce; taste and adjust the sauce before resting
0.5 g	Ground black pepper 1/4 tsp
350 g	Water Hot; keep an extra 100 g hot water to hand, not included in the quantity
10 g	Fresh coriander A few sprigs, finely chopped to serve
120 g	Bread (baguette or country loaf) For mopping up the sauce

Method

Peel the potatoes and cut into wedges (quarter a medium potato, making 3–4 cm pieces the size of a large walnut); keep them the same size so they cook evenly. Chop the onion and crush the garlic. Pat the chicken pieces dry and season with 1 g salt. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a 24 cm sauté pan over a medium-high heat.
Brown the chicken in a single layer for 7 minutes, turning halfway through: it should turn golden without cooking through. Set aside on a plate. Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining oil and soften the onion for 5 minutes, loosening the browned bits from the pan.
Add the garlic for 1 minute, then the tomato purée, harissa, tabil, turmeric and paprika. Stir constantly for 2 minutes until the paste is deep red, glossy and fragrant. If it catches or darkens too quickly, add a spoonful of the hot water. Pour in the 350 g hot water, add the remaining 6 g salt and the pepper, and stir, scraping the base.
Return the chicken and its juices, add the potatoes and press them into the sauce: it should just reach the top of the wedges without covering them. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook over a medium-low heat for 25 minutes. Turn the wedges halfway through; add the reserved 100 g hot water only if the bottom threatens to catch.
Pierce a potato: the knife should pass through without resistance; a fork should enter the chicken easily and the flesh should start to pull apart. If not, cook for another 5 minutes, covered. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt. Only if the sauce is watery, uncover and reduce over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes, until it coats the potatoes and leaves a trail behind the spoon.
Turn off the heat and rest for 5 minutes with the lid ajar. Scatter over chopped coriander, divide the chicken and potatoes between two shallow bowls, spoon over the sauce and serve with bread for mopping up.

Lighter version

Extra virgin olive oil : 25 g
Potatoes : 350 g
Bread (baguette or country loaf) : 60 g

Half the oil, one potato fewer and half the bread, with the same sauce and cooking method.

On your plate

Recipe

852 kcal · protein 52 g · carbs 79 g · fat 33 g

Quantities per person

200 g Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot)
225 g Potatoes
60 g Yellow onions
7.5 g Garlic
30 g Double-concentrated tomato purée
12.5 g Harissa
2 g Tabil (Tunisian coriander, caraway, garlic and chilli spice blend)
0.75 g Turmeric
2 g Sweet paprika
22.5 g Extra virgin olive oil
3.5 g Fine salt
0.25 g Ground black pepper
175 g Water
5 g Fresh coriander
60 g Bread (baguette or country loaf)

Cooking tips

Even better reheated gently the next day (Friday for Saturday) with 30–50 g water, as the sauce concentrates during resting. A classic variation adds 150 g frozen peas 10 minutes before the end (marka jelbana), or a handful of green olives. Thigh meat stands up to this slow cooking; do not replace it with small cubes of breast, which would dry out.

Equipment : 24 cm sauté pan with a lid

Tunisian chicken marka batata, with tomato purée fried in oil and potatoes cooked in the sauce.