May 28, 2014 - Written by: Ilona-Jade Errington

Homemade Harissa

As I have a bit of a partiality for spicy food, recently I bought a chilli plant for my kitchen window (number 2, as I may have over watered number 1). Having read up more stringently on care of said plant I was overjoyed to begin harvesting what can only be described as a bumper crop.

Armed with more chillis than I could possibly cook with in a week I decided that the only way to preserve and make use of my spicy bounty was to make Harissa– a hot chilli paste of Tunisian origin.

There are a whole host of different recipes for Harissa out in the ether, some calling for dried chillis, other peppers, some equal parts garlic to chilli so I would encourage you to adapt the recipe below to your tastes. My only cautionary word: don’t forget that the spiciness will develop over time!

THE RECIPE

Useful Info

This Recipe Is:

Vegetarian

Gluten-Free

Dairy-Free

Ingredients

8x Fresh Red Chillis
4x Garlic Cloves, crushed
2 tsp. Ground Cumin
2 tsp. Ground Coriander
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Tomato Purée
2 tbsp. Olive Oil
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 Pinch Ground Pepper

Method

Half the chillis, remove the seeds and chop finely.
Stir in the other ingredients, then blend or pound in a pestle and mortar until a smooth paste has been formed
Taste and adjust the seasoning as preferred.

What I love most about Harissa is that you can add it to so many dishes: roasted vegetables, hummus, salad dressings, fish and couscous to name just a few. And to top it off it can keep in the fridge for up to a couple of months if covered with a layer of olive oil and the flavour just gets better over time – bonus!

Happy eating!

If you enjoyed this post, why not check out “Restaurant Review: Tagine Tuesdays at Ayoush”?