Recipe: How to Recreate Henrietta’s Harissa-Spiced Cauliflower and Fried Chicken Burger at Home

Henrietta may be best known for its Lebanese-style charcoal chicken, but for a few days in summer 2024, summer, the popular eatery served two limited-edition menu items at its Surry Hills store. Both celebrated the creaminess of mayonnaise combined with signature Lebanese flavours – with a strong assist from the spiced warmth of harissa.

One was a fried chicken burger that incorporates some key American touches, while the other was a harissa-spiced popcorn cauliflower to be enjoyed either as a meat-free side or a satisfying main. In case you couldn’t make it to either shop in person, we’re sharing both recipes with Broadsheet readers.

“For me, one of the most important things in a burger is the sauce,” says head chef Gianluca Lonati. “That brings the burger together.”

The fried chicken burger includes a harissa marinade and a cooling layer of cauliflower, sumac and pickle slaw. Easy-melting American cheese and fluffy Martin’s potato rolls nod toward US-style burgers, though the dish, in classic Henrietta style, will also be available in a wrap at the restaurant.

The recipes below are simplified versions of the ones served up at Henrietta, with fewer steps and ingredients, while ensuring the core flavours of the dish still shine through. Both are designed to be easily recreated at home.

As for the harissa-spiced popcorn cauliflower, Lonati was seeking something both versatile and vegetarian. “We wanted to make something that could be a side for the burger, or also just a snack,” he says.

And like the burger, it plays well with the harissa, which is one of Henrietta’s flagship ingredients. “It’s a North African chilli sauce that gets bulked up with a lot of paprika, coriander and cumin,” says Lonati. “It’s more spiced than spicy.”

It also perfectly complements the mayo, which cuts the heat nicely. That’s especially true of the cauliflower, which sneaks in two different kinds of chillies as well. The result is a balanced profile where creaminess and crunchiness go hand in hand.

Fried chicken burger with Hellmann’s mayo and cauliflower slaw

Serves: 4
Preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

125g plain flour, plus enough to dust the chicken
50g tawook spice (Shish Taouk)
125g besan (chickpea) flour
500ml soda water
300g cauliflower
20g sumac
200g Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise
4 Lebanese pickled cucumbers
500ml vegetable oil to fry
50g unsalted butter
4-5 Martin’s potato rolls
4 medium chicken thighs (around 600g total)
4 slices American cheese (8 for extra cheesiness)

Method

Mix tawook spice, besan, plain flour and soda water. Slice cauliflower thinly using a mandolin, or pulse into a crumb in a kitchen blender. Mix in a bowl with sumac and Hellmann’s mayo. Slice pickles to desired thickness. Warm up oil in a pot on medium heat to around 160 degrees. Melt the butter and brush it on the inside of the potato rolls. Toast rolls in a pan on low heat until crispy and caramelised. Lightly coat the chicken in flour and dunk it into the spiced batter, drain, shake and fry for 6-7 minutes. Make sure the chicken is fully cooked with a meat thermometer, or cut each piece in half just before serving to check. Remove from the oil and immediately top with the cheese slice/s. Build each burger starting with a generous amount of Hellmann’s on both sides of the bun, followed by the chicken in the middle and then the cauliflower slaw and pickles on the bottom.

Harissa-spiced popcorn cauliflower with Hellmann’s mayo

Serves 4 (as a side)
Preparation and cooking time: 2 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

500g rice flour (reserve 100g to toss with the cauliflowers)
800ml soda water
20g salt
1L vegetable oil
1 whole cauliflower head, cut into small florets
10g mix of seeds (sesame, nigella, buckwheat, pepitas)
150g Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise (to serve)

For the harissa glaze
10g ground cumin
10g ground coriander
5g ground caraway seeds
5 long red chillies, roasted until caramelised
2 whole roasted red capsicum, peeled and deseeded
6g ground dry chillies
100g tomato paste
100g garlic cloves
100ml water
100g caster sugar
40g chardonnay vinegar
1 lime
1 lemon

Method

Cook all harissa glaze ingredients beside lime and lemon in a pot on low heat for 2 hours. Meanwhile, grate lemon and lime zest and juice them. Blend cooked harissa ingredients with a stick blender, then add zest and juice. Prepare a rice batter in a bowl by mixing flour, salt and soda water. Sprinkle salt on the cauliflower and let brine for 30 minutes. Place a large pot on the stove and preheat the oil to 180 degrees. Toss cauliflower in rice flour and then dunk it in the batter, drain and pop into the hot oil. Stir the cauliflower quickly so they don’t stick together. Remove from the oil and toss in a bowl with the harissa glaze. Top with mix seeds and serve in a bowl with Hellmann’s Mayonnaise on the side for dipping.

Looking for more ways to cook with capsicum? Check out Broadsheet 's capsicum recipes hub for inspiration.