I’ve only tasted harissa in restaurant dishes and have always loved it. Harissa is basically a North African condiment made with different kinds of chillies, garlic and spices. There are multiple recipes out there and most of them have the same base ingredients but different chillies. I happen to follow a former Masterchef Australia contestant Rose Adam on Instagram and she posted an Insta story of harissa paste in the making. It was too easy to pass so I wanted to make some of my own.
I love a good chilli condiment or a base for curries. I make them all the time and it makes life easier. Moreover, homemade pastes have nothing on the store bought ones and I could bet my spice cabinet on it. Since I use an induction stove and don’t have a regular one I had to use by friend’s. It’s because the chillies have to be charred well. I do have a few ideas of how I’d use harissa and I’ll try and put them up on the blog too. For the meanwhile, just make a jar of this fiery goodness and enjoy!
Yield:
1 small jar (100 ml possibly)
Prep time:
5 mins
Cooking time:
5-7 mins
Ingredients:
Red capsicum – 2 medium
Fresh red chillies – 2 large
Dried chillies – 1 (or 2 for more fire)
Garlic – 3-4 cloves
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Coriander seeds – 1 tsp
Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Method:
Put the dried chilli in a small bowl of boiling water for 5 mins while you get on with the rest of the recipe.
On an open flame, char grill the capsicum till they’re charred all over. Same with the chillies.
Once you keep them aside they begin to wilt and soften. Take off the excess charred bits of the skin. I kept most of it for flavour.
Dry roast the cumin and coriander seeds till they’re fragrant.
In a blender, put the dried red chilli, capsicum, fresh chillies, roasted spices, salt and olive oil. Blitz till smooth.
Harissa is ready!
