Harissa Paste Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Remove stems from chili peppers and cut them in half. Remove all or some of the seeds if you want a milder harissa.
• Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add caraway, cumin, and coriander and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir so the spices won't burn.
• Toss chili peppers, spices, 1/4 cup olive oil, and garlic in a baking dish large enough to fit chili peppers in one layer.
• Bake in the preheated oven until chili peppers are very soft but not burned, about 1 hour. Stir a few times to ensure even cooking. Let cool.
• Transfer to a food processor and puree until paste-like but still a little chunky. Season with salt.
• Spoon into a sterilized glass jar and level the top. Add enough olive oil so the surface is covered and the harissa won't dry out. Seal and refrigerate.

Steps:

• Put the coriander, caraway and cumin seeds in a dry frying pan and toast for 1 min. Grind in a pestle and mortar. Soak the guajillo chillies in warm water, then drain and remove the seeds (keep the soaking water). Put the spices and the soaked chillies into a blender with the halved red chillies, the garlic, coriander, lemon juice, olive oil and some salt. Add some chipotle paste to taste if you want a smoky flavour. Blend to a thick paste with a little soaking liquid. Put in a sterilised jar and pour over a little extra olive oil. Will keep chilled for up to two weeks.

Steps:

• Drop the tomatoes into a pan of boiling water for 30 seconds, then scoop out and peel off the skins.
• Remove the stems from the chiles. The seeds contain most of the fruit's heat, and at this point, you can choose to either leave all the seeds in or, for a less intense paste, cut some of them out. Make sure you wash your hands after handling chiles and avoid touching your eyes for awhile, as the chile oil will burn them.
• Put the skinned tomatoes, chiles, and all the other ingredients except the oil in a food processor and process until well blended. Pour into a small saucepan and heat until boiling, then simmer for about 10 minutes, until reduced and starting to thicken. Let cool, then pack into warm, sterilized jars (see p. 21), leaving a 3/8-inch gap at the top. Pour oil over the paste to completely cover it. Seal the jars.
• Store in the fridge and use within 4 months. If you want to extend the shelf life, pack in small, sealable containers and freeze. Once opened, keep in the fridge, making sure the paste in the jar is completely covered by a layer of oil.
• For a tasty chile plum dipping sauce, simmer 1/4 cup of rice vinegar or cider vinegar, 5 tablespoons of plum jam (p. 61), and 1 teaspoon of harissa paste until reduced and thickened.

Steps:

• Soak the dried chillis in tepid water to cover until softened, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Drain and remove the stems and seeds.
• Place in a blender or food processor with the garlic, water, and olive oil and process until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides.
• Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and stir in the caraway, coriander, and salt.
• Store in a jar and top off, covering the surface of the paste with a layer of olive oil.
• Whenever the paste is used you must always top off with olive oil making sure no paste is exposed to air otherwise it will spoil.
• Variation: To make a hot harisa, use 4 ounces dried guajillo chillis and 1/ 2 ounce dried de Arbol chillis.
• Note: To make salsa al-harisa, that is, harisa sauce, used as an accompaniment to grilled meats, stir together 2 teaspoons harisa, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons water and 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves.