Harissa
Wonderfully spiced harissa recipe to amplify the flavours of any dish.
Harissa paste is a wonderfully flavoured, spicy paste that is great to use in a vast array of dishes to give them a little boost. I love adding harissa to my sweet potato hummus recipe, stir-fried vegetables, or just on its own with a little bread.
It is really easy to make, so whipping up a fresh batch is never a problem. I like to use dried ancho chili peppers in mine, but other chilis will work as well.
I recommend using roasted garlic cloves for extra flavour, but these can be minced and sautéed in a little olive oil if needed. Whenever I roast any vegetables I always throw a bulb of garlic in to roast as well so it's on hand for recipes such as this.
Harissa is entirely vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free, so everyone can enjoy its rich flavours.
TIP: Anytime I roast vegetables, I roast a bulb of garlic for use in recipes like this. If you have to roast garlic specifically for this recipe, roast an entire bulb and store the rest in the refrigerator for future use.
Ingredients
(Makes 12 servings)
3 large dried Ancho chili peppers, deseeded
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, roasted
1 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C. Prepare a small casserole dish by lining it with parchment paper.
Clean the dried chili peppers by removing the stems and seeds. Roughly chop the chilis and add to a medium bowl. Cover with boiling water and set aside.
Place the garlic cloves, still in their skins, on a small sheet of aluminium foil. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil then wrap into a closed package. Place the garlic in the casserole dish and roast until soft (about 20 minutes). Once roasted remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes or until the foil is cool enough to handle.
Add the caraway seeds to a spice grinder and pulverize into a powder. Set aside.
Drain the bowl of chilis and pat dry with a paper towel before adding to a food processor. Squeeze the cloves of garlic out of their skins (discard the skins) and add to the chilis. Add the caraway, cumin, coriander, and salt. Begin processing while slowly adding the extra virgin olive oil. Stop to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl as needed. Purée until the chilis and garlic are well combined.
To store, place in an airtight jar and smooth down the top surface. Add a few teaspoons of olive oil to cover the surface and prevent drying. Seal the jar and store in the refrigerator. Use as needed.
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
total calories = 54.5 | total fat = 4.93g | saturated fat = 0.66g | cholesterol = 0mg | sodium = 100.79mg | net carbohydrates = 1.67g | dietary fibre = 1.05g | sugars = 0.02g | protein = 0.64g
