Harissa is the fiery red paste from North Africa that found its way to the Northern shores of the Mediterrranean and is now starting to pop up in supermarkets everywhere. Unfortunately the tins, jars and tubes currently on sale are, in the main, a travesty of the real thing, which is why it gets included in my basic recipes. You deserve better.
It can be used in couscous, chili con carne, soups, stews, as a condiment, or anywhere where you want flavors that are rich, complex and hot. For example, use it in place of mustard or horseradish.
My recipe comes from Tangiers and I haven't changed it in 20 years. Let's make a trial sample first.
Ingredients
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp coriander (cilantro) seeds
1 tsp cumin
1tbs caraway seeds
2 fresh chilies with seeds, chopped
2 tbs paprika
4 garlic cloves
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt
Method
All the seeds have to be ground. Either do this with a pestle and mortar, the end of your rolling pin in a small bowl, or you may have a grinding attachment on your food mixer.
Once you have a coarse powder, grind in the chili and paprika to make a paste, adding about a teaspoon of oil as you do so.
Crush the garlic and add it to the paste with a few more drops of olive oil and mix thoroughly, then gradually add the rest of the oil.
You will end up with a browny red paste that you can further refine, if you wish, by pushing it through a sieve. I leave mine as is.
Use it as above. It keeps well in a sealed jar in the fridge. Make larger quantities by doubling the given ingredients.
