Yogurt Marinated Chicken Tacos with Harissa

Yogurt Marinated Chicken Tacos with Harissa are my way of welcoming the warmer weather. Yogurt marinated chicken thrown on the grill and then stuffed into tortillas with harissa, arugula and lemon are fresh, flavorful and perfect for your next outdoor get together.

I spent my entire high school career trying to look like I wasn’t trying. And by that I mean I knew exactly what I wanted to wear each morning but pain achingly got up early and took the time to make it look like I didn’t give a damn. I would spend extra time doing my hair to look like I’d just rolled out of bed.

With this head of curls, it wasn’t hard.

I went through this awful phase where I wore pants 4 sizes to big and a super chunky belt to hold them up. I use to wear golf shirts and button them all the way to my neck. And to tie the look all together, I wore the same pair of Chuck Taylors every day. I’m really selling myself as a fashionista, aren’t I?

Like most adolescents, I was impressionable and pretty much wanted to wear anything that my parents were opposed to and this seemed to fit the bill. I suppose you could call my fashion style contrary. All I wanted to do was fit in and I did it by trying to be different. And piss off my parents. Ah….the complexity of teenagers; I can hardly wait until my boys are teens and I get to go through it with them this time being a parent. #not

I wouldn’t go back to being a teenager for all the tea in China. I’m so much more comfortable in my skin these days; I own the “less is more look” and rock a pair of sweats like nobody’s business. I’m lucky if I get a shower every other day and this mop of mine (that I hated in high school) has become my signature. It still looks like I just rolled out of bed but unlike 20 years ago, it’s because I did. I don’t do things just to fit in anymore and my main purpose in life isn’t to make my parents wonder where they went wrong. In fact, it’s just the opposite. I do things now to make them proud and wonder how they got so lucky. 🙂

I started thinking about all of this when I made these tacos. Weird you think? Well let me tell you why. The tacos are super similar to ones already posted here by my friend, Lauren, when she did a Taco Tuesday guest post. I sort of (read: totally) became obsessed with harissa after she made them and have spent the last few months making anything and everything that involves a smear of harissa. It got me thinking: are these tacos me trying to fit in? Are they me being a copycat? Or are they me recognizing a really good thing and then putting my spin on them to make something new? I’m still undecided what route I took (I’d like to think the latter) but unlike my high school days, I’m ok with it. It’s ok to want to fit in and it’s ok to want to be like your friends. Especially when said friend has mad skills in the kitchen and copying her means your taste buds and belly benefits.

I’ll gladly own the copy cat Kelley hat. Especially because I just rolled out of bed and my hair is all over the place.

Yogurt Marinated Chicken Tacos with Harissa

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• Yield: 6-8 tacos 1x

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Ingredients

• 4 oz whole milk greek yogurt
• One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• Kosher salt
• 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (about 1.5 lb)
• 1/4 cup harissa
• arugula
• lemon
• extra yogurt for garnish
• flour tortillas

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Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, ginger, garlic, cumin, chile flakes, salt and lemon. Whisk until smooth and pour into a baking dish. Place the chicken breasts in the yogurt mixture and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours or up to a day to marinate.
2. When ready to grill, heat a very clean grill to medium. When the grill is hot, brush with the oil and place chicken on the grill, skin side down. Cook until the skin is brown and crispy, about 5 minutes, and then flip. Cook another 5-10 minutes, covered, until chicken is fully cooked.
3. Remove chicken from grill and let rest 5-10 minutes before pulling meat off the bone and shredding it.
4. To serve tacos, spread a few tablespoons of harissa onto each tortilla. Top with shredded chicken, a handful of arugula, a dollop of yogurt and a squeeze of lemon juice.