Spicy, smoky harissa chicken meatballs are piled on top of a crisp salad with a harissa-honey dressing and a crunchy, tangy pistachio-sumac garnish. A labor of love, but a salad that’s worth the effort!
On nights when dinner doesn’t need to be rushed, this harissa chicken meatball salad is a must.
I love this salad, but I love big, maximalist salads because more is more! This salad is not one you should tackle if you’re feeling stressed out or overstimulated, because there is just so much chopping and dicing, and your hands are going to get dirty while you’re making the meatballs. Trust me, I’m your friend. I won’t send you down a stressful dinner path. But, if you have an evening where you can take some time and you’re craving a big salad with all that it deserves, this is the one to make.
The harissa chicken meatballs are juicy, a little smoky, a little spicy, and they pair perfectly with crisp salad vegetables and a creamy harissa-honey dressing. Finished with a tangy, salty pistachio-sumac garnish, it’s a salad that I can’t get enough of.
None of the steps are particularly challenging or “hard” to throw together, but it does require a decent amount of prep and chopping and dicing. You can speed up the work by recruiting someone to chop while you make the meatballs, or you can make the meatballs the night before and simply reheat them before serving.
What you need
- Harissa chicken meatballs: You’ll need sour cream, panko or breadcrumbs, Italian parsley, egg, harissa seasoning, ground chicken, minced shallot, minced garlic, and salt.
- Salad: The salad is a mixture of chopped romaine lettuce, halved grape tomatoes, sliced cucumner, minced Italian parsley, and minced scallions.
- Harissa-honey dressing: The dressing is Greek yogurt, lemon juice, harissa paste, and honey.
- Pistachio-sumac garnish: This is simply chopped, salted pistachios, minced scallion, and sumac.
I use powdered harissa seasoning for the meatballs and harissa paste for the dressing. If you only have one of those products, use it for both parts of the recipe.
How to make it
Step 1: Make the meatballs.
Prepare the meatball mixture by creating a panade with all of the ingredients except chicken and oil. Let stand for a few minutes before adding the ground chicken. Mix until thoroughly combined and then roll into meatballs. Preheat the skillet and oil and then fry (in batches, if needed) and transfer to a 400ºF for 10 to 12 minutes until they reach 165ºF.
Step 2: Make the salad.
As the meatballs bake, combine the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, and scallions together in a large bowl and season with a pinch of salt. Toss to combine.
Step 3: Prepare the dressing and garnish.
Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing and set aside. Combine chopped pistachios with a minced scallion and sumac together in another small bowl.
Step 4: Serve it up.
Transfer the cooked meatballs to a large platter and scatter half the pistachio-sumac garnish on top. Add the remaining pistachios to the salad along with half the dressing and toss to coat. Divide the dressed greens between bowls and top with the meatballs. Finish with more dressing, if desired.
Harissa Chicken Meatball Salad
Ingredients
Harissa chicken meatballs:
- 1 shallot (peeled and minced)
- 4 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
- ½ cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
- ½ cup breadcrumbs (or panko)
- ¼ cup Italian parsley (loosely packed and minced)
- 1 egg
- 1½ tablespoons harissa seasoning (see Note 1)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (plus more as needed)
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (for frying)
Salad:
- 2 romaine hearts (trimmed and roughly chopped)
- 2 scallions (trimmed and minced)
- ½ cup Italian parsley (loosely packed and minced)
- 6 ounces grape tomatoes (halved)
- 4 ounces English cucumber (sliced into rounds)
- Pinch salt
Harissa-honey dressing:
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 lemon (juiced; yielding about 2 tablespoons lemon juice)
- 1 tablespoon harissa paste (see Note 1)
- 1 tablespoon honey
Pistachio-sumac garnish:
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 1 scallion (trimmed and minced)
- ¼ cup salted pistachios (roughly chopped)
- Pinch salt (if needed)
Instructions
Prepare the meatball panade:
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Combine the shallot, garlic, ½ cup sour cream, ½ cup breadcrumbs, minced Italian parsley, egg, 1½ tablespoons harissa seasoning, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a large bowl. Mix with a spatula until thoroughly combined. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Prepare the meatballs:
- Add the ground chicken to the panade and mix with the spatula or your hands until fully incorporated. At this point, you can fry a small piece of the mixture to taste it and adjust the seasonings to your preference.
- Roll the mixture into tablespoon-sized meatballs. Depending on the size, the mixture will yield 16 to 20 meatballs. If larger, 13 to 15. Don’t fret if the meatballs look raggedy; the mixture is intentionally moist.
Preheat the skillet:
- Place the skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Preheat for 3 to 5 minutes until warmed. Add 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and let it heat for 1 to 2 minutes until shimmering but not smoking.
- Add the meatballs in an even layer, frying in batches if needed, for 3 minutes on each side. Turn off the heat and transfer to the oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the meatballs reach 165ºF. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Make the salad:
- Meanwhile, combine the chopped romaine hearts, minced scallions, minced Italian parsley, halved grape tomatoes, and sliced cucumbers in a large bowl. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the salad and toss to combine. Set aside.
Prepare the dressing:
- In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon harissa paste, and 1 tablespoon honey. Whisk until smooth. Taste and season with salt as needed. Whisk again and set aside.
Prepare the pistachio-sumac garnish:
- In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon sumac, 1 minced scallion, and the chopped pistachios. Add a pinch of salt if needed. Set aside.
To serve:
- Transfer the meatballs to a platter and scatter half the pistachio-sumac garnish on top. Add the remaining pistachio-sumac garnish to the salad along with half the harissa dressing and toss to coat. Divide the salad between bowls and top with the meatballs. Drizzle more dressing on top as desired. Enjoy!
