Harissa paste is a North African chile thick chile sauce gaining popularity in the West. Today’s recipe for harissa paste is a culinary treasure from the world of North African Cuisine. Harissa paste is most often featured in recipes from Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, but this popular kitchen staple is also found in recipes throughout North Africa. If you’ve tried any traditional Moroccan recipes, you’re probably familiar with harissa.
It’s a vibrantly flavorful hot sauce that is used in marinades (like these harissa chicken thighs), sauces (like this harissa pasta), as a topping, and hot sauce. Moroccan harissa is quick and easy to make! This version has a smoky flavor and bold complex flavors.
In Arabic, harissa translates to “pound” or “crush.” This refers to the old-school way of grinding ingredients using a mortar and pestle. While it’s often found in paste form, today I set out to find a way to enjoy all the heat and flavor of harissa but in powder form.
Harissa is a perfect ingredient for amping up flavor. It is popular to add it to rice, couscous, soups, eggs, and sandwiches. I like to mix it with hummus to make harissa hummus or mix it with tahini to make a True Foods style roasted cauliflower dip.
The fun thing about making your own Harissa versus buying a jar at the store? You control the texture, so your harissa can be a thick paste or sauce. Moroccan Harissa sauce is great wherever you use hot sauce. Once you master this simple recipe, a whole new world of possibilities will open up. Get excited!
Read also: Harissa Chicken: A Culinary Journey
How to make Harissa paste | Simply Delicious
What is Moroccan Harissa Paste?
Moroccan Harissa paste is a thick sauce with bold, smoky, and intense flavors. While harissa is often compared to Sambal and Sriracha, I find it has a smokier, more sharp and citrusy flavor thanks to the paprika and lemon. It is used both as a seasoning for recipes and as a condiment served alongside dishes.
If you’re unsure about trying it, a good alternative to harissa is sriracha.
Harissa Paste Uses
Harissa paste is used in a wide variety of dishes throughout North Africa.
- Try out harissa’s classic namesake dish, Harissa Chicken, or other chicken dishes like this Moroccan Chermoula Chicken.
- Use some to spice up pasta night with these Spicy Tunisian Beef Meatballs.
- Stir some into soups and stews like this Lamb Tagine or Moroccan Chicken Stew.
- Incorporate into your next batch of scrambled eggs or make a Moroccan Shakshuka for a spicy breakfast feast.
- Add a blast of flavor to any of your favorite vegetable dishes.
Harissa Powder
Allow me to introduce you to my harissa spice powder blend. It’s spicy, a little sweet and roasted. It has a deep, roasted pepper flavor with a hint of sweetness and a kick of heat.
It can be added to soups, marinades, or used as a dip if you like some direct heat. Harissa is wonderful to enjoy in paste or dry form. In paste form, it’s great to rub on chicken, beef, or fish as a spicy, aromatic marinade. You can also add it to your favorite stew or chili to take the flavor to the next level.
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But I love having the harissa seasoning blend to sprinkle over my popcorn, fries, toasted chickpeas, or nuts. If you’re a fan of spicy foods and haven’t tried harissa yet, I strongly encourage you to try it as soon as possible!
Ingredients for Moroccan Harissa Paste
Here is what you need to make harissa:
- Fresno chilis - For the chilis, I like to use Fresno chilis. They have the perfect heat level for me and for the harissa I like. They’re basically like red jalapeños. If you can’t find them, use the closest red chili you can find to it.
- Roasted red bell pepper - Now roasted red bell peppers are not an essential ingredient in harissa but I can’t go without adding it. The slight sweetness and smokiness of it just balances out the flavors so well. You can buy them in a jar at the grocery store where all the pickles and jar peppers are.
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Tomato paste
For the spices, I like to keep it very simple. We’re just using salt, cumin, and coriander. Feel free to add more cumin or coriander to taste. A lot of recipes will use whole cumin and coriander seeds - toast them and grind them - and while you can do this, I like to make this recipe as easy and accessible as possible for everyone!
Here’s a list of ingredients with measurements:
- 6 dried red chili peppers (See below for options and conversions by pepper.)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste optional, for depth
- 2 tablespoons water as needed, for consistency
Chili Pepper Options
Chilies come in different potencies, sizes, and flavors. Use this guide when choosing your chiles. You can use a mix of chiles. All measurements are for dried chiles, except for the last option, Chipotle in Adobo Sauce.
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- Guajillo (6 chiles) - Smoky, tangy, and mild in spice.
- New Mexico (6 chiles) - Earthy, sweet, mild
- Ancho (4-5 chiles) - Sweet, fruity, and mild in spiciness.
- Pasilla (7-8 chiles) - Rich, smoky, and mild in spice.
- Chipotle (6 chiles) - Smoky, spicy, and bold.
- Chipotle in Adobo Sauce (7-ounce can) - An alternative to dried chiles is chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce.
Using dried peppers is a must! The flavor is more intense and earthy compared to fresh peppers. If you use fresh peppers, the flavor will not be as strong.
Spices
Spices add complexity. To save time, use ground spices. To enhance the flavor, we are going to toast them. You will need cumin, coriander, caraway, and paprika. For a smokier flavor, use smoked paprika.
Additional Ingredients
I am absolutely in love with Cava’s harissa paste. They have tomato paste in their recipe. The paste gives the harissa a richer flavor. Red Bell Pepper - Adds a bright, tangy, and sweet pepperiness, plus a deep smoky flavor, once charred.
How to Make Harissa Paste
Making harissa at home could not be simpler! Here’s how to make harissa:
- Soak the dried chilies: Remove stems and seeds, then soak them in hot water for 15-20 minutes until softened. Cut off the stems of the dried red chili peppers. Bring a saucepan of water to boil and add the chiles. Simmer for 2 minutes, covered. Turn off the heat (lay a saucer on top of chiles to submerge) and allow to soak for 30 minutes. Hydrate the chiles. Add them to a bowl and cover with hot water.
- Toast the seeds: Being careful not to burn them, toast the cumin coriander seeds until they become fragrant. Let the seeds cool, transfer them to a spice grinder, and pulse them into a fine powder. In a dry pan, toast cumin, coriander, and caraway seeds for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. In a dry skillet toast caraway, coriander and cumin seeds until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Blacken the Pepper: Use the broiler in your oven or an open flame to blacken and char the red bell pepper all over. Place the charred pepper in a bowl and immediately cover it with plastic wrap. The trapped steam will help the skin come off more easily. Once the pepper is cool enough to touch, remove and discard the charred skin, veins, stems, and seeds. Next, either over an open flame blacken the red bell pepper all over until charred or under the broiler. Place charred pepper in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to steam so skin is easily removed. When cool enough to handle discard the stem, veins, seeds and charred skin.
- Blend the Ingredients: Transfer the pepper to a food processor or blender and add in the garlic cloves, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, salt, oil, vinegar, orange/rose water, and the strip of orange zest. Puree together until a loose paste forms. Drain and squeeze excess water from red chiles, add to food processor or blender.
- Process the harissa: Remove the stems from the peppers and add to a food processor with the remaining ingredients.
- Make the harissa paste: Run the food processor, and while it’s running, drizzle the extra virgin olive oil from the top opening. Stop the processor to scrape down the sides and run again until you reach the desired paste-like texture. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking (remember that harissa paste will deepen in flavor as it sits in the fridge over the next day or two).
You can use the traditional mortar and pestle if you do not have a food processor or blender. This will take about 10 minutes to grind together.
How to Make Harissa Powder
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spread dried chilis on a sheet pan.
- Toast for 5 minutes our until fragrant.
- Remove from the oven and allow them to completely cool.
- In a dry skillet toast caraway, coriander and cumin seeds until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer cooled chiles to a food processor and process until broken down into flakes.
- Working in batches transfer chilies and spices to a spice/coffee mill.
Storing Instructions
Moroccan harissa paste can be stored in the refrigerator, in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. To store any leftover harissa, just transfer it to an air-tight jar or container and store in the fridge for a week. To prevent any molding in the fridge and to preserve it longer, add a layer of olive oil at the top of the jar and this will help.
Homemade harissa can last in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks, properly stored in a covered mason jar and the top the harissa paste covered with a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil.
If you won’t use it that quickly, freezing is an option too. You can also store it in the freezer if you plan to use it longer than a week! You can also freeze it for later use (about a month or so). Yes! You can freeze harissa paste for up to 1 month or so.
Upon thawing, the paste will be a bit watery, but don’t be alarmed. Adding a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top will help seal it well.
Is Harissa Spicy?
Yes! Chock full of chili peppers, red bell peppers, paprika, and other spices, harissa paste undoubtedly has a bit of a kick to it. Although each batch will vary slightly, in general, I’d describe the heat level as medium-hot.
Don’t be intimidated, though. In addition to spicy heat, harissa is also deep, smoky, tangy, zesty, and bright!
Equipment
- 1 small bowl
- 1 garlic press
- 1 small skillet
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tags: #Moroccan
