Content

• Ingredients
• Basic harissa
• Spicy harissa
• To step
• Method 1 of 2: Making a basic harissa
• Method 2 of 2: Make spicy harissa

Harissa is a spicy chili pepper paste that comes from North Africa and is especially popular in Tunisia. It is used as a seasoning in many types of food, including meat, soups, stews, fish, and vegetarian meals with chickpeas and couscous. There are many local variations of the traditional harissa recipe, but the main ingredients usually remain the same, including red chilies, hot chilies and spices.

Ingredients

Basic harissa

• 1 red pepper
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) of coriander seeds
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) of cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) of caraway seeds
• 1½ tablespoons (22.5 ml) of olive oil
• 1 small red onion, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 3 hot red chilies, fresh, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1½ teaspoons (9 g) sifted tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) of salt

Spicy harissa

• 8 dried Guajillo peppers
• 8 dried New Mexico chilies
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) of caraway seeds
• ¼ teaspoon (1.25 g) coriander seeds
• ¼ teaspoon (1.25 g) of cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) of dried mint leaves
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of olive oil
• 1½ teaspoons (7.5 g) of table salt
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 lemon, squeezed

To step

Method 1 of 2: Making a basic harissa

1. Roast the red pepper. Place an oven rack at the top of the oven and preheat the oven to the grill. Place the red pepper on a small baking tray and bake it under the grill on a high setting for 20 to 25 minutes. Turn the pepper every five minutes to make sure it cooks evenly. The pepper is ready when it is soft, fully cooked and black on the outside.
   • You can also roast the pepper directly on a burner on a stove instead of in the oven on the grill. Roast the pepper over a medium flame for about 10 minutes, turning every so often.
   • When the pepper is ready, remove the pepper from the oven or pit, place it in a heatproof bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the pepper cool for about 20 minutes. When the pepper has cooled, pull the skin off with your fingers and remove the seeds. Discard the peel and seeds.
2. Toast and grind the spices. Light a burner and heat an empty frying pan over a low flame. When the skillet is hot, add the caraway, cilantro and cumin. Shake the seeds frequently to avoid burning and toast them for about three minutes.
   • Remove the pan from the heat and pour the seeds into a spice grinder. Grind a few times with the pulse function until the seeds have turned into powder. You can also use a pestle and mortar to grind the seeds.
3. Saute the onion, garlic and chilies. Pour the olive oil into the warm skillet you used for the spices and heat over medium flame. Add the onion, garlic and chilies and sauté for about 10 minutes. The ingredients are supposed to turn a smoky color and start to caramelize.
   • It doesn't matter what kind of red chilies you use in this recipe, and you can change the spiciness of the harissa by using other chilies.
   • Mild red chilies include ancho, paprika, chipotle and cascabel.
   • The moderately hot, red chili peppers include the cayenne, the rawit, the tabasco and the habanero.
   • Hot, red chili peppers include Bhut Jolokia (ghost pepper) and Trinidad Scorpion.
4. Mix the ingredients. Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor. To start, mix on a low speed and increase the speed to medium once the ingredients start to mix. Keep mixing until it becomes a smooth paste.
   • Add extra olive oil as needed to keep the blender running.
   • Additional ingredients that you can add at this point are a few sun-dried tomatoes or a few fresh mint leaves.
   • If you don't have a blender or food processor, put the ingredients in a bowl and puree with a hand blender.
5. Put the harissa in a clean jar and keep in the fridge. Once you have a smooth paste, the harissa is ready to use or to keep for later use. Put leftover harissa in a clean jar, pour a layer of olive oil over it to keep it longer, and close the jar with an airtight lid.
   • The harissa will keep for two to four weeks in the refrigerator. After using some of the pasta, pour a little extra olive oil over whatever is left in the jar.

Method 2 of 2: Make spicy harissa

1. Get rid of the peppers from their seeds and stems. Remove the stems by prying off the ends of the chilies with scissors or a sharp knife. Cut the chilies open along the side and open them further to reveal the seeds. Scrape the seeds and the fleshy part that they are attached to with your finger or a spoon.
   • If you want to spice up the Harissa, you can leave some seeds in the peppers, but the seeds don't mix very well, which is why you are removing them.
2. Soften the chilies. Place the chilies in a medium bowl and add boiling water until covered. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let the chilies soak for about 20 minutes or until they are soft.
   • After 20 minutes, remove the chilies from the water by pouring the contents of the bowl into a colander, reserving the water.
3. Toast the spices. Place a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Add the caraway, cumin and cilantro seeds as soon as they are warm. Toast the spices for about four minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
   • Once the spices are ready, put them, along with the mint, in a spice grinder or mortar and grind them into a powder.
4. Puree the ingredients. Combine all ingredients and use a blender, food processor or hand blender to puree the ingredients into a smooth paste. Add as much of the reserved chili pepper water as needed to allow the blades to rotate freely.
   • Ingredients that you can add at this point are a few squirts of rose water, a little bit of fresh lemon juice, or a few pieces of canned lemon.
5. Serve and keep the harissa. To save the harissa for later use, place it in a clean jar with an airtight lid and top with a layer of olive oil. Put the mixture in the refrigerator. This recipe will keep for about three weeks.
   • If you use some of the harissa you have to put a new layer of oil over what is left, so that it lasts longer.