Harissa (Chili Paste)

Buffet on Table: Week 3 -- Condiments from Countries

Day 13: North Africa -- Harissa

Today I have a simple and most useful all-purpose chili paste from North Africa. It is great to serve as a condiment for grilled foods and elevates the taste of braised dishes. This condiment is made with only dried red chilies, garlic, olive oil and a tiny bit of cumin.

Even though it is made with red chilies, it does not have to be really fiery hot and spicy, you can use mild tasting chilies too. Experiment with different chilies to find your tolerance level.

I used to buy harissa and it was my husband's favorite condiment of all times. He would put it on just about everything. This is my first attempt at making it at home and I made only a few tablespoons of it. He wasn't too thrilled that the whole batch got over in no time. I have to make some more for him soon.

Good thing is it can be stored in the fridge for at least a week or two. It might lose a bit of intensity over time when refrigerated, but this is not necessarily a bad thing; you can just call it mellowing of the chilies :-)

Ingredients:

Dry Red Chilies - 6~12
Garlic - 4 cloves, peeled
Extra virgin oil -
Ground Cumin - 1tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Soak the chilies in hot water for about 15 minutes or until they soften. Remove the stems and the seeds. Keep the seeds if you don't feel like taking them out.
• Put them in a food processor with the garlic, olive oil and cumin.
• Blend until the mixture forms a coarse paste, scraping down the sides if necessary.
• Taste and season with salt. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

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