I’m very into what I’ll call pretentiously call alternative poultry at the moment. Thanksgiving this year consisted of not a turkey but several Cornish game hens stuffed with a slice of prosciutto and a sprig of rosemary, roasted in a pan of chicken broth. I absolutely love quail and have shared a favorite recipe here in the past. And I just made poussins – which are young chickens that are larger than quails but typically a bit smaller than Cornish hens – for the second time using this incredible recipe from the cookbook Persiana (one of my favorites).
It feels almost like cheating to call this a recipe, because the instructions are basically to buy this spice paste and rub it on the birds. Okay, it’s not quite that simple, but just about. The hardest things about making this will be twofold: 1) locating poussins (my local Citarella usually stocks them but I like to order them just to ensure I am not in the mood for poussins only to be denied) and 2) locating rose harissa.
Rose harissa is a “thing” but it seems to not be a thing in the United States. I have looked everywhere trying to find it here, including at Kalustyan’s, which stocks every Middle Eastern and North African product you could dream up. But not rose harissa. The company that makes this stuff is called Belazu, and it’s a British brand that makes lots of different sauces, tapenades, etc. If you live in London you can find their rose harissa at a well-stocked Sainsbury’s or Waitrose. If you live in the US, you can order it on Amazon and pay a a nauseating shipping fee to get it here. It will take several weeks, so you’d better plan this meal well in advance!
I don’t mean to deter you from trying this, though, because it’s a really special (and shockingly easy) dinner. The harissa is blitzed up with some preserved lemons in the food processor, and rubbed all over the poussins. You stick them in the oven for 45 minutes, until they’re starting to get dark and crispy and your house smells incredible. Then dinner is served.
One recipe calls for about half a jar of the harissa, and the leftover paste will keep for a little while in the fridge, so it’s a good investment as something that can also be slathered on chicken thighs and baked in the oven for a quick weeknight dinner that is not nearly as prim and proper as munching on poussins. But if you’re going to track down the harissa, you really may as well fully commit and put out the extra effort for tiny chickens!
Note: You can prepare the poussins in advance and cook them later. Just cover the marinated poussins with plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator up to one day before you are ready to cook.
Ingredients
- 8 preserved lemons
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 teaspoons crushed sea salt flakes (less if using table salt)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup (3 1/4 oz.) rose harissa paste
- 4 whole poussins
Instructions
- Using a food processor or hand blender, blitz the preserved lemons, olive oil, salt, pepper to taste and rose harissa together until you achieve a smooth mixture. Pour this over your poussins and rub the mixture into the birds using your hands.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the poussins in a large roasting pan or ovenproof dish lined with parchment paper. Roast the poussins for 45-50 minutes until cooked through and nicely browned on top - check that the juices run clear when pierced at the thickest part of the thigh. Serve immediately.
Notes
From Persiana
