Harissa is a north African spice paste, usually made up of red chillies, peppers and spices. Having a jar of homemade harissa in the fridge is such a handy go-to to spice up any meal, as it works beautifully with vegetables, fish and meat. Get creative with flavouring your harissa, rose petals add a beautiful freshness, as well as orange zest, or a green harissa alternative by mixing up the chillies and peppers for green ones.
Makes approx. 150ml
INGREDIENTS
5 dry red chillies
2 roasted red peppers, skin removed (jar peppers will work fine here)
4 garlic cloves
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp paprika
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp red wine vinegar
50ml extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
½ tsp salt
METHOD
Cover the dried chillies in boiling water to rehydrate them, for 15 mins. Remove the seeds and discard.
Heat a small frying pan over a medium heat and add the spices. Dry fry them for 2 minutes until toasted and fragrant, then either break them down in a pestle and mortar or transfer them to a blender and blitz to a powder.
Add the rest of the ingredients, including the rehydrated chillies, to the blender and blitz all together.
Keep the harissa stored in an air tight container in the fridge, with a layer of olive oil on the surface to keep it fresh. It should last up to 2 weeks.
Comments