Harissa is a Tunisian hot red sauce or paste generally made from chili peppers
. it is used both as a condiment and as an ingredient. I have made a slightly
milder version of the original using roasted peppers for extra flavour which
I feel has just as much flavour without the eye watering chilli kick. Enjoy!
Prep time 10mins
Cooking time 20mins
Ingredients
1 yellow pepper
1 red pepper
3-4 raw chilies
¾ of a can of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
Method
1. First char the peppers by placed them over the medium gas flame on your stovetop.
The flame will cause the skin of the peppers to blister and blacken. Turn the
peppers so that all of the skin has been charred. (If you do not have a gas
cooker place the pepper under a hot grill and turn regularly until skin has
blistered all over.)
2. As soon as you have removed the peppers from the heat place them into a plastic
bag and seal it. This caused the skin to sweat and makes pealing the peppers
much easier.
3. Leave the peppers in the bag until they have cooled down completely. Then
simply remove the charred skins with your fingers. You may need to give the
peppers a quick rinse to remove the remains of the charred particles.
4. Deseed the peppers and cut them into strips.
5. Add 3-4 roughly chopped chilies, the chopped tomatoes, apple cider vinegar
and tomatoes paste and blend into a smooth paste. (The more chilli you add the
spicier it gets. I like mine with a kick but add less chilli at this stage if
you prefer milder food.)
6. Add the salt and sugar and blend again.
Serving Suggestion
Harissa sauce is versatile and can be served with just about anything. If is
delicious on falafels, tagine or as a spicy dip for home made potato fries.
