Harissa Recipe
From:
Field Guide to Herbs & Spices
, by
Aliza Green
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Makes:
About 3 cups
Harissa, the basic seasoning paste of Tunisia, is served with kebabs and couscous, and appears on the table in a small dish. It is also delicious on crusty bread spread with hummus. It is to be used sparingly as a condiment. Harissa is sold ready-made in tubes or small cans; the best comes from Tunisia.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 pounds roasted, seeded, and peeled red bell peppers
- 1/4 pound fresh hot red chiles, seeded and trimmed
- 1 cup sweet Spanish paprika
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 to 8 peeled garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup ground caraway seed
INSTRUCTIONS
- Combine bell peppers, chiles, paprika, olive oil, garlic cloves, and caraway seed. Purée in the bowl of a food processor until smooth and thick, adding salt to taste. To use as a sauce, whisk 1 tablespoon harissa with 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon chopped flat parsley, and enough water to make a pourable sauce.
This recipe, while from a trusted source, may not have been tested by the CHOW food
team.
How and how long does this keep? Thanks!
1 cup of Spanish paprika makes this very bitter. I prefer dried red chiles with some aji dulces chiles, coriander,cumin,caraway,and a little dried mint.
There's a great recipe for harissa in the January/February 2009 issue of Saveur.
Jose
Wow! This sounds great. I'm always looking for new ways to use caraway, and this looks like a great excuse. I like to toast them first (really brings out the flavor). I make a carrot soup that's mostly just pureed cooked carrot, with the toasted caraway, some olive oil, and some dill. I guess you could call it "Orange Harissa"!
This is the first Harissa recipe I have seen with the roasted red bells. The same can be said for its non-use of coriander. Rounding third and heading for home, everyone else uses dried red pepper chiles which have been soaked. Most commercial pastes are made with hot pimenton. Don't believe everything you read.
We used to make this paste while in Paris, but then Chef Briffard opted for a green version of harissa... it was amazing and complimented his lamb shoulder beautifully.