Pulled Harissa Chicken with Greens & Flatbreads

Ingredients

• 8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
• 250ml hot chicken stock
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp harissa paste
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 120g baby spinach
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• 120g cavolo nero, stalks removed and shredded
• 4 flatbreads, warmed
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 15g coriander, roughly chopped
• Chopped salad, to serve

Method

1. Season the chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper before they hit the pan — this is the seasoning that goes deep into the meat. Mix the harissa, tomato puree, smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the lemon zest and half the lemon juice into a thick rust-red paste, then rub it all over the thighs.
2. Heat a deep frying pan over a medium-high heat with the remaining olive oil. Cook the red onion for 4 to 5 minutes until it softens and starts to catch at the edges, then add the grated garlic and stir for 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Don't let it go past pale gold — burnt garlic turns the whole sauce bitter.
3. Bloom the smoked paprika in the onion oil for a few seconds as the harissa-coated chicken goes in — you'll smell it shift from dusty to deep and fragrant. Brown the thighs in two batches if your pan is on the smaller side; crowd them and they steam in their own juices instead of building that dark crust. Three minutes a side, until the paste has caught and gone almost mahogany.
4. Pour in the hot stock and scrape up any sticky bits from the base of the pan — that fond is where the flavour lives, and the stock breaks the harissa and tomato puree down into a proper sauce rather than a paste clinging to the meat. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook gently for 18 to 20 minutes until the chicken pulls apart easily under a fork.
5. Lift the chicken onto a board and shred it into chunky strands with two forks. Bubble the sauce uncovered for 2 to 3 minutes until it reduces and turns glossy enough to coat the back of a spoon.
6. Return the chicken to the pan with the cavolo nero, spinach and spring onions. Toss for a couple of minutes until the greens are just wilted but still bright green — any longer and the cavolo nero loses its bite. Add a squeeze of the remaining lemon juice off the heat; the acid lifts the smoke and chilli and pulls everything sharp. Taste, season, taste again — adjust the salt now, not at the table.
7. Warm the flatbreads in a dry pan or low oven until soft and pliable, about a minute a side.
8. Pile the pulled harissa chicken and greens onto the warm flatbreads, scatter the coriander over the top, and tuck the lemon wedges alongside for squeezing at the table.