Harissa Paste
Harissa is a chili paste that can be used as a condiment or as an ingredient in another dish to add flavour and heat. Harissa is of Tunisian origin.
Ingredients
Harissa Paste
- 1/2 red bell pepper roasted, skin peeled
- 55 g dried chiles
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1.5 tsp salt or to taste
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus more for storing
- 3 tbsp lime juice
Optional additions:
- preserved lemon
- fresh or dried mint
- fresh cilantro
- sun-dried tomatoes
- tomato paste
- cayenne
- paprika
Instructions
- Cover the dried chilies with boiling water. Let soak for 30 minutes.
- Toast the spices in a dry skillet over low-medium heat, shaking or stirring to prevent burning. When the spices are fragrant, remove from the heat.
- Grind the spices in a mortar and pestle, spice grinder, or coffee grinder. I use my stick blender with the spices at the bottom of a narrow bottle.
- Drain the chilies, reserving the liquid.
- Remove and discard the stems from the chilies. Remove the seeds as well if you'd like to keep the heat levels down. Wear gloves.
- Combine the chilies, spices, garlic, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. I use my stick blender with the ingredients in the bottom of a narrow jar.
- Drizzle in the olive oil while the food processor / blender running and process to form a smooth and thick paste. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. If a thinner paste is desired, add some of the chili liquid until the paste is at your desired thickness
- The flavor of the harissa won't be as good right now. It will have sharpish edges. But you can taste it and make any corrections needed now if you like and also add any optional ingredients. Refrigerate over night, then taste again and make any additional corrections as desired.
- Put the harissa in a jar and cover the surface with a thin layer of olive oil. Cover and refrigerate for up to a month. Add additional olive oil to the top as needed to keep it covered.
Notes
Chilies: Use whatever chilies you like.
For moderately spicy harissa, try a mix of Guajillo and New Mexico chiles. Add heat with Arbol or Puya chiles. Add smokiness with Chipotle or Morita chiles. Add richness with Ancho, Mulato, or Pasilla chiles. For a very mild harissa, use roasted red bell peppers.
To use fresh chilies instead: Use twice as many fresh as dried (e.g., 110 grams fresh chilies instead of 55 grams dried). You can also use a mix of fresh and dried chiles.
There's a great deal of variability here - feel free to mix things up and find whatever works best for you.