Harissa Honey Chicken with Blistered String Beans

Grilling in the summer is difficult when you don't have a grill. We had a communal one in our fourplex's backyard, but I haven't seen it in a while. Maybe I just don't want to see it. I don't really love our backyard, though I love our apartment in general; the backyard's just not a place I want to spend much time. That's my big realization about grilling: grilling is only fun if you like the environment in which you're grilling.

So until we have a house with a pool surrounded by citrus trees and male models, I'm staying inside and using my broiler. It's funny to me how many people don't know about their broilers. When I interviewed the amazing Kate Berlant on Instagram Live, she said she didn't even know if her oven had one. People! Your broiler can be your best friend in the kitchen. Let me tell you why.

A broiler replicates the grill in the sense that you're cooking directly under (as opposed to over) a flame. You ever hear the expression "flame-broiled"? That's what your broiler's capable of. It can give your food that char that everyone craves so much in summer. Your oven can't get your chicken skin crispy and golden by itself, but your broiler can. It can also work magic on ribs, meatballs (I use my broiler instead of frying them in a pan, these days), even desserts.

I got the idea for a honey harissa chicken from the Sababa cookbook, which has a very different recipe that doesn't involve the broiler. But I liked the idea of mixing harissa and honey together, so I used harissa in a tube that I had in my fridge and combined it with a generous amount of honey, plus some lime juice for acid.

I painted it on to a chicken that I had spatchcocked and cooked in a cast-iron skillet at 425, just until the internal temperature reached 160 (about 30 minutes). While the chicken roasted, I tossed a bunch of beautiful string beans with olive oil, salt, and pepper and inserted them into the oven until they were charred and soft all over (about 20 minutes). Then I broiled that chicken until it looked like something you'd see in a commercial.

It's a simple, summery dinner that makes you feel like you're outside, even if you're not outside. And in this heat, who wants to be outside? Well: I suppose people who have pools, citrus trees, and male models. Until that happens, make this.