Harissa Recipes

EASY HARISSA RECIPE

Steps:

• Soak and prepare the dried chiles. Place the dried chiles in a heat-safe bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside for 30 minutes until the chiles are tender and re-hydrated. Drain the chiles and remove the stems and seeds.
• Combine chiles with the remaining ingredients. Transfer the chiles to the bowl of a large food processor fitted with a blade. Add the tomato paste, roasted red peppers, garlic, ground caraway seeds, coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne (if using), and a large pinch of kosher salt. Add fresh lemon juice.
• Make the harissa paste. Run the food processor, and while it's running, drizzle the extra virgin olive oil from the top opening. Stop the processor to scrape down the sides and run again until you reach the desired paste-like texture. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking (remember that harissa paste will deepen in flavor as it sits in the fridge over the next day or two).
• Store. Transfer the harissa paste to a clean mason jar. Cover with a very thin layer of extra virgin olive oil, then cover the jar with its lid tightly and refrigerate.

HARISSA

Steps:

• If you want spicy harissa, include the chiles' seeds; if not, slit them open to remove and discard the seeds. Tear the chiles into large pieces and place them in a medium bowl. Carefully pour 4 cups boiling water over chiles and set aside until softened, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the coriander and cumin seeds in a small skillet and cook over medium heat, swirling the pan often, until the spices are fragrant and lightly toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the spices into a blender, add the oil, salt, garlic and lemon juice, and puree until smooth. Drain the chiles, reserving 1 cup of the soaking liquid (discard remaining liquid). Add the chiles and reserved liquid to the blender and puree on high until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Season the harissa with pepper and transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

HARISSA CHICKEN TRAYBAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
• Deseed the peppers and tear into big chunks, peel and quarter the onions and break apart into petals, then place it all in a 30cm x 40cm roasting tray.
• Use a large sharp knife to carefully cut down the back of the chicken, so you can open it out flat, then score the legs. Add to the tray with the harissa, and a little sea salt, black pepper and red wine vinegar. Toss well, making sure you get into all the nooks and crannies of the chicken.
• Sit the chicken flat on top of the veg, skin side up, and roast it all for 50 minutes, or until gnarly and cooked through. Pick over the mint leaves before dishing up.

HARISSA

Steps:

• Break up chili peppers, remove the stems and seeds, and discard. Wear disposable gloves if working with medium-hot or hot peppers.
• Place chili peppers in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak until softened, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well, then dab dry with paper towels.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over very low heat and cook garlic until soft but still pale, about 3 minutes. Let cool, then transfer to the food processor together along with the chili peppers.
• Toast caraway seeds, cumin seeds, and coriander seeds in the skillet over medium-low heat until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Crush them in a mortar and add to the food processor. Process while slowly adding remaining olive oil, scraping down the sides of the food processor as needed. Season with salt.
• Spoon harissa into a sterilized glass jar and level the top. Add enough olive oil so the surface is covered and the harissa won't dry out. Seal and refrigerate.

HARISSA PASTE

Steps:

• Put the coriander, caraway and cumin seeds in a dry frying pan and toast for 1 min. Grind in a pestle and mortar. Soak the guajillo chillies in warm water, then drain and remove the seeds (keep the soaking water). Put the spices and the soaked chillies into a blender with the halved red chillies, the garlic, coriander, lemon juice, olive oil and some salt. Add some chipotle paste to taste if you want a smoky flavour. Blend to a thick paste with a little soaking liquid. Put in a sterilised jar and pour over a little extra olive oil. Will keep chilled for up to two weeks.

HARISSA

Steps:

• Place the pepper under a very hot broiler, turning occasionally for about 25 minutes, until blackened on the outside and completely soft. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to cool. Peel the pepper and discard its skin and seeds.
• Place a dry frying pan over low heat and lightly toast the coriander, cumin, and caraway seeds for 2 minutes. Remove them to a mortar and use a pestle to grind to a powder.
• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, and fry the onion, garlic, and chiles for 10 to 12 minutes, until a dark smoky color and almost caramelized.
• Now use a blender or a food processor to blitz together all of the paste ingredients until smooth, adding a little more oil if needed.
• Store in a sterilized jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or even longer.

HARISSA

Steps:

• It is very important to wear gloves, a surgical mask and goggles for all stages of the preparation of this recipe as peppers could burn depending on their intensity.
• Stem and seed the dried peppers.
• Soak them in a bowl of boiling water, immersing them completely, for 45 minutes.
• Change the soaking water twice.
• Drain the peppers in a colander for 1 hour and shake the colander to get rid of their water.
• Squeeze them with both hands to remove as much water as possible.
• Place the peppers on a large dry cloth and place another dry cloth over them.
• Press firmly on it to dry them well.
• Grind the peppers and garlic cloves in small quantities in the meat grinder (coarse plate), and into a large bowl.
• Mix the ground peppers with coarse salt and half of the oil with your hands. Grind the mixture again through the meat grinder.
• Add the remaining oil and the tabel. Mix well by hand and grind the mixture for a third time.
• Mix again by hand.
• Pour the harissa into sterilized glass jars. Pour olive oil on top and close tightly.
• Harissa can be kept for several months in the refrigerator.

EASY DIY HARISSA PASTE

Steps:

• Add dried chilies to a mixing bowl or measuring cup and cover with hot water. (We used a mix of mild New Mexico chiles and hot peppers (chiles de arbol). Adjust the ratio to preferred spice level.) Once submerged, cover and steam for 15-20 minutes to rehydrate. Set aside.
• In the meantime, add cumin and coriander seeds to a small skillet and toast over medium heat for a few minutes, or until fragrant and they start to pop. Then transfer to a mortar and pestle (if you don't own one, just add to a food processor to mix later), and crush into a fine powder.
• Next add caraway seeds, minced garlic, smoked paprika, and salt, and mix. Then add lemon juice and vinegar and mix again until you've achieved a paste. Transfer paste to food processor and add the tomato paste. Set aside.
• Once chiles are rehydrated, drain and remove the stems and seeds (I recommend wearing gloves to protect your hands), then add to food processor. At this point, all ingredients (besides olive oil) should be in the food processor.
• Blend for 1-2 minutes, scraping down sides as needed until a smooth paste is achieved. Then stream in 1/4 cup olive oil while blending to create a saucier consistency (see photo). (Add more oil (or water) as needed until desired consistency is achieved.)
• Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more lemon or vinegar for acidity, paprika for smokiness, tomato paste for depth of flavor, or salt to taste. If it's not spicy enough at this point, you can either add more chiles de arbol (rehydrated and seeds removed) or cayenne pepper to taste.
• Scoop paste into a jar to store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. If storing in the freezer, we recommend scooping into an ice cube tray, freezing, and storing in a freezer-safe container up to 2 months. Add cubes directly to warm foods (like stews or cooked sauces). If adding to cold foods (like dressings or dips), let thaw before adding.

EASY HARISSA

Steps:

• Combine the spices in a small frying pan set over medium heat.
• Allow the spices to toast for a few minutes, giving the pan a shake regularly to prevent the spices from burning.
• The spices will become aromatic and start to pop. Remove from the heat. Grind with a pestle and mortar until fine.
• The easiest way to char peppers is over an open flame, like a gas hob. You can also do it under a hot broiler. Char the peppers until blackened all around then transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
• Allow to steam for 20 minutes then peel off the charred skin. De-seed the peppers and set aside.
• Combine the peppers, chillies, peeled garlic cloves, tomato paste, spices, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and blend.
• Adjust seasoning if necessary then transfer to a sealable jar or container.