Mango was in town this weekend and we spent loads of time outside in the sun, on the water, drinking cool drinks and eating cool foods, just as one does with summer birthdays. I wouldn’t trade it for anything! Birthday week celebrating over, it’s time to get back to some semblance of normal and I’m going to kick it off with this chicken tagine flatbread pizza.
You’ve probably noticed by now that I just love reinventing favorites to fit seasons where they don’t typically belong. Chicken tagine is one of my favorite cold weather meals, and I throw it together at least twice each fall/winter because it’s the perfect blend of spice, sweat, texture, heat if you want and freshness, despite the stew-ishness that comes with the original. I’ve already salad-ified it, so now it’s time to pizza-fy it.
Pizza/flatbread. Po-tay-to, po-tah-toe. The gist is that the same awesomely marinated chicken thighs are broiled and sliced and mixed in with a combo of cheeses (feta and mozzarella, to be precise), chopped prunes, fresh parsley and the whole thing is drizzled with a homemade harissa sauce.
The harissa sauce- let me just say- was so amazing that I could have easily eaten it with a spoon, and I enjoyed using it to dip…pretty much anything I could find….in it. I’ll be remaking it again and again and again, Amen.
As for the flatbread, I had a total disaster with making my own pizza dough and COULD NOT stretch it to my satisfaction, so I ended up using a yeasty naan dough instead and it rolled out perfectly, retained its pillowy texture and fluff, and withstood the slightly heavier topping that this pizza boasts. I liked my choice, and it’ll be my go-to pizza crust from now on (unless I’m making this awesome DTW-style one).
The end result was exactly what I wanted it to be, and exactly as I had imagined it in my head. It’s got some steps, but they are all necessary and important and worth it. GIve it a try!
This reheats awesomely well in the oven or toaster oven. Take the extra few minutes to do it properly and skip the microwave to ensure your crust retains its perfection.
Tagine marinated chicken and dried prunes are spread on a naan crust topped with feta and mozzarella, and harissa in this chicken tagine flatbread pizza When the pizza has cooked, drizzle with the harissa and serve hot.
By: Chrissy
Ingredients
For the crust:
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 oz active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup cornmeal
For the chicken:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp smoked paprika, eyeball it
½ tsp ground coriander, eyeball it
½ tsp tumeric, eyeball it
¼ tsp cinnamon, a couple shakes
For the harissa:
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp coarse salt
1 TB ground cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 lemon, juiced (about 4 TB)
1/4 cup olive oil
For the rest:
1 cup crumbled feta
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup fresh parsley
8 dried prunes, diced
Directions
Step 1In a small bowl, add the sugar, warm water, and yeast together. Combine well and let sit 10 minutes, until foamy. Transfer the flour to a flat surface and make a well in the middle. Add the yeast mixture, yogurt, and oil, knead the dough about 10 minutes. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Step 2While the dough is rising, cook the chicken. Preheat the broiler to high. Line a broiling pan with aluminum foil. In a small bowl, add the chicken and spices and coat thoroughly. Place the chicken on the broiling pan in a single layer, and cook for 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook another 4 minutes until the chicken has cooked through. Set to rest for 10 minutes and then dice. Set aside.
Step 3Preheat the oven to 450F and place your pizza stone or cookie sheet in it to heat up. Roll the dough to a 16″ circle using a rolling pin. Take the stone or pan out and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place the dough on the pan and bake about 8 minutes. Give it a flip and bake it another 6 minutes until golden brown and cooked.
Step 4Assemble the flatbread by spreading the feta around the crust, followed by the chicken, prunes and mozzarella. Sprinkle with parsley and bake 8 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Step 5While the pizza is cooking, make the harissa. Place all the ingredients into a food processor and puree until smooth.
Step 6When the pizza has cooked, drizzle with the harissa and serve hot.
