Harissa is a chili pepper paste traditionally made from roasted sweet peppers, hot chili peppers, garlic, cumin, olive oil, coriander, smoked paprika, and caraway seeds. This spicy paste is very popular in North Africa and the Middle East and is added to almost everything.
Why you should try to cook this sauce?
If you love spicy shakshuka, this is exactly the kind of flavor you're looking for. It's a very distinctive spice.
I add harissa to everything: I coat roasted eggplants with it, add it to omelets, spread it on toast or flatbread with meat. It makes everything brighter and richer.
You can buy this paste ready-made in stores, but it's usually expensive, even though it’s made from inexpensive ingredients in just a few steps. I brought my first harissa from London and cherished it, adding it in tiny portions. Now I always have a jar of this paste in my fridge and don’t need to spend $10 on 30 grams of it.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 3-5 dried chili peppers
- 3 roasted red bell peppers (whole)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder (fresh can be used, but the paste will have a shorter shelf life)
- 1 teaspoon toasted and ground caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- Salt
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- Roast the bell peppers for 25 minutes at 220°C (428°F). Peel the roasted peppers.
- Pour boiling water over the dried chili peppers and let them soak for half an hour.
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend thoroughly.
- Transfer the paste to a small jar and cover it with olive oil. It can be stored in this form for about 2 days (or freeze part of the portion immediately).
You can watch the cooking process on my Instagram.