Harissa (North African Chili Paste)

Food Recipes from around the world

Category: Sauce - (591)
Origin: Tunisia
Source: The Daring Gourmet

Harissa is a fiery North African chili paste that is popular in Tunisian and Algerian cuisine. This harissa recipe is easy to make. It’s made up of dried chiles, olive oil, garlic and spices. The dried chilies are reconstituted in boiling water, the whole spices are toasted and ground, and everything is pulsed in a food processor or blender (or use a mortar and pestle) until a chunky paste is formed. Servings: 16

Ingredients:

16 dried red chilies (New Mexico and guajillo chilies work well, remove seeds, membranes and stems. If you want a really hot paste, leave the membranes)
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preparation:

Put the dried chiles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them sit for 20 minutes. Heat a small skillet over medium heat and dry roast the caraway, coriander, and cumin seeds, frequently stirring them, until very fragrant, about 4-5 minutes. Let them cool completely and then transfer them to a spice or coffee grinder (or mortar and pestle) and grind them to a fine powder.
Next, drain and squeeze the chiles to release as much liquid as you can. Add them to a food processor along with the ground spices, olive oil, garlic, salt, and lemon juice. Process to a smooth paste. Add more olive oil if it’s too dry. Transfer the paste to a glass jar and pour some extra olive oil on top, about 1/4 inch in depth. After each use, top it off with olive oil. Keep refrigerated. Will keep for about 3 weeks.
Makes about 1 cup.

Nutrition Values: