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Harissa

Course Seasoning
Cuisine American
Keyword dried chile spice blend, harissa sauce, harissa seasoning, homemade harissa
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
A two-part harissa recipe: a toasted dried chile seasoning mix and a fresh roasted red pepper sauce. Use the dry mix as a spice blend or make the sauce to spoon over meats and vegetables.

Ingredients

Harissa Seasoning Mix

  • 8 dried guajillo chiles stemmed and seeded
  • 8 dried chilis de Arbol stemmed and seeded
  • 4 dried Thai chiles stemmed and seeded
  • 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoon garlic powder

Harissa Sauce

  • 7 Dried New Mexico Chiles or Guajillo Chiles or a combination of both
  • 6 oz jar roasted red peppers drained rinsed, and dried (the equivalent of 2 large peppers)
  • 2 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 4 large garlic cloves peeled
  • 1 teaspoon caraway seeds toasted and ground (use a mortar and pestle, grinder or food processor)
  • 2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus a bit more for serving

Directions

Seasoning Mix

  • Toast the dried chiles on a baking sheet at 350F for 5 minutes, then let them cool completely.
  • Toast the caraway, coriander, and cumin seeds in a dry skillet until fragrant, about two minutes.
  • Grind the cooled ingredients to a fine powder in a blender or coffee mill.

Sauce

  • Soak the dried chiles in hot water in a heat-safe bowl until soft, about 30 minutes. Drain them and throw away the stems and seeds.
  • Put the chiles in a food processor with the tomato paste, roasted peppers, garlic, ground caraway, salt, coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, and cayenne (optional, for more heat). Add the lemon juice.
  • With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil, scraping down the sides as needed.
  • Repeat until the paste is as smooth or thick as you want. Adjust the seasoning to taste. The flavor gets stronger as the paste sits in the refrigerator.

Notes

Store the seasoning mix airtight in a bag or spice jar.
The sauce is fresh, not a dry mix: spoon it into a clean jar, cover the top with a thin layer of olive oil, and keep it refrigerated.