Cooking with Cava: Baked Harissa Chicken Fingers Recipe

My day-to-day diet goes one of two ways: I either eat healthfully with brussels sprouts and veggie burgers OR I eat like a seven-year-old who’s been left home alone. At the top of my favorite “kid” meals on a gold pedestal, chicken fingers. Glorious, glorious ethereal chicken fingers.

I would eat chicken fingers every day if it meant I could still fit into my skinny pants. That’s the dream.

Spicy fingers dipped in Ranch dressing or bleu cheese. Plain fingers bathed in ketchup. I put ketchup on my ketchup, let’s move on.

There’s no wrong way to eat a chicken finger. But now, with some help from Cava Foods, I’ve discovered a Mediterranean twist on the classic for our “adult” taste buds.

Harissa brings.the.heat. On a healthy eating day, I love adding a spoonful of Harissa to sauteed brussels sprouts to liven things up. And I can’t say no to Cava Mezze’s Harissa Bloody Mary. So what else can I put Harissa on? I was racking my brain to come up with a Harissa dish for Sunday’s big game. I thought about adding a dollop to guacamole (still totally going to happen) or adding it to chili but then it came to me: Harissa chicken fingers. BRILLIANT!

Several months ago, I picked up Panko crumbs at Wegman’s on a whim. I kept seeing it in recipes and wanted to know what the fuss was all about. Well, Panko crumbs are a new pantry powerhouse for me. And they happen to make a ROCKIN’ chicken finger coating!!

Melted butter + Harissa + Panko crumbs = I want you, I need you.

This is a pretty straight forward baked chicken fingers recipe: Chicken tenders marinaded in buttermilk and then coated with a spicy Harissa breading. With a cool side of Cava Foods Tzatziki. Ooh, you could put these chicken fingers on your Greek salad!! Filing that away in Delicious Things To Eat. Another delicious idea: melting Crazy Feta on the fingers in the last couple of minutes in the oven. Back to the kitchen!!

P.S. I’ll be sharing more Super Bowl snacks + sips on Instagram this weekend so stay tuned : )

Ingredients (For Three Tenders)

3 chicken tenders

1 cup buttermilk

4 tablespoons butter, melted

3/4 cup Harissa

3 cups Panko crumbs

Tzatziki for dipping

Directions

1. Marinade the tenders in the buttermilk for at least 2 hours in the fridge or up to overnight.

2. Once ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and get your coating assembly line ready!

3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and then add Harissa. Whisk to combine and add to a medium bowl with Panko crumbs. Mix to combine.

4. Remove the tenders from buttermilk and shake excess. Place in the Harissa-Panko mixture and press mixture into the tender to ensure an even coating.

5. Spray baking sheet with a cooking spray and place the tenders on the sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375, flipping once and then baking for another 10 minutes.

6. Serve with tzatziki sauce + enjoy!

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