cava hot honey harissa chicken bowl 🌶️🍯
I had to recreate our essential road trip meal
hi and happy sunday! hope you all had a great weekend. if you read my past couple of newsletters, you’ll know that I was on a road trip from toronto to los angeles. I’m now back in LA and settling into my routine again which feels great. we had a week of fake summer here (classic) and now it’s back to regular “winter” weather which I’m not complaining about — doing lots of hiking, walking and short runs which are basically my main hobbies outside of cooking and working (jk working is not a hobby LOL nevermind!)
while we were on our road trip, my friend and I got…addicted to cava bowls. omg cava is so good!!! they have basically everything I want in a bowl: rice + chicken plus lots of tangy/pickle-y toppings, dips galore and tahini dressing. it’s kind of like a mediterranean sweetgreen but better (imo). if you’ve never had cava you must get it!
anyway I decided I *had* to recreate our favourite cava bowl upon returning home, so for episode 6 of my bowl food series, IN A BOWL, we’re making a mediterranean hot honey harissa chicken bowl. warning — this bowl does have several different components BUT none of them is particularly difficult to make, and I promise it’ll be worth it. you make a big portion of each component and then you have everything ready to go in your fridge for lunches and dinners throughout the week! you’ll thank yourself, trust me (I ate this every day for lunch last week and was very pleased about it). ENJOY!
hot honey harissa chicken bowls (cava inspired)
for the hot honey harissa chicken:
1 ½ tbsp harissa paste (I get mine at Trader Joe’s)
2 tbsp hot honey
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves grated garlic
½ tsp sea salt
4-5 boneless skinless chicken thighs
for the herbed tahini sauce:
⅓ cup tahini
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove grated garlic
2 tsp honey
1 tbsp finely chopped chives
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
¼ tsp sea salt
water to thin
for the quick pickled onions:
1 red onion, thinly sliced
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup water
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp sea salt
for the roasted veggies:
1 small head of cauliflower, chopped into florets
a few handfuls of brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and sliced in half
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp sea salt
for the rest of the bowl:
chopped romaine lettuce
cooked brown rice (if you want my tutorial for the best brown rice, let me know! I also stirred lots of salt + chopped parsley into mine here)
crumbled feta cheese
hummus (homemade or store bought)
any other toppings you desire: pickles, tzatziki, chopped tomato/cucumber, etc.
start by marinating your chicken: whisk together harissa paste, honey, olive oil, salt and garlic in a large bowl. add your chicken thighs and stir to evenly coat. let marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
make your quick pickled onions by placing sliced onion in a jar. heat the vinegar, water, salt and honey together in a small saucepan over medium and whisk to combine. let the mixture cook until just starting to simmer, then remove and carefully pour over your onions until they’re completely covered and submerged. let this mixture cool to room temperature, then place in the fridge to store for up to 2 weeks.
to make the roasted vegetables, coat your cauliflower and brussels evenly in olive oil, salt and garlic powder in a large bowl. spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast at 400F for 30-40 minutes, flipping halfway through, until veggies are nicely browned (you can also do them in the air fryer for 20-25 minutes). remove and set aside.
to make the tahini sauce, simply whisk all ingredients together in a jar or bowl, adding water a little bit at a time to thin it out. it should be thick but pourable. taste and add more salt/lemon if desired.
when ready to cook the chicken, heat a large skillet over medium. add your chicken thighs in a single layer and let cook for 6-8 minutes until the underside is deeply browned. flip each piece of chicken and finish cooking for another 8-10 minutes, depending how thick they are, until the outsides are lightly charred and crispy and the middle is cooked through. remove, let rest on a cutting board and slice into cubes.
to assemble, add romaine and a scoop of brown rice to your bowl. top with hot honey harissa chicken, some roasted veggies and a spoonful of quick pickled onions. drizzle with herbed tahini sauce then top with scoops of hummus, crumbles of feta and anything else you like!
makes enough for at least 4 bowls
hope you all have a wonderful week! see you next sunday xo