Tunisian Harissa Sauce Recipes

HARISSA

Steps:

• It is very important to wear gloves, a surgical mask and goggles for all stages of the preparation of this recipe as peppers could burn depending on their intensity.
• Stem and seed the dried peppers.
• Soak them in a bowl of boiling water, immersing them completely, for 45 minutes.
• Change the soaking water twice.
• Drain the peppers in a colander for 1 hour and shake the colander to get rid of their water.
• Squeeze them with both hands to remove as much water as possible.
• Place the peppers on a large dry cloth and place another dry cloth over them.
• Press firmly on it to dry them well.
• Grind the peppers and garlic cloves in small quantities in the meat grinder (coarse plate), and into a large bowl.
• Mix the ground peppers with coarse salt and half of the oil with your hands. Grind the mixture again through the meat grinder.
• Add the remaining oil and the tabel. Mix well by hand and grind the mixture for a third time.
• Mix again by hand.
• Pour the harissa into sterilized glass jars. Pour olive oil on top and close tightly.
• Harissa can be kept for several months in the refrigerator.

TUNISIAN HARISSA

Steps:

• Remove the stems and seeds from the chile peppers. Soak in cold water for 20 minutes, then drain. Place the peppers, garlic, caraway, coriander, and salt in a mortar; pound with a pestle until smooth. Place harissa in a jar, and cover the top with a little oil to maintain freshness. Store in the refrigerator.

CHEF JOHN'S HARISSA SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven's broiler and set the oven rack at about 6 inches from the heat source. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place red bell peppers with cut sides down onto the prepared baking sheet. Cook under the preheated broiler until the skin of the peppers has blackened and blistered, 5 to 8 minutes. Place the blackened peppers into a bowl and tightly seal with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to steam as they cool, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard skins.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add Fresno and habanero chiles and cook uncovered over medium heat until vegetables start to soften, about 3 minutes; drain and set aside to cool. Remove seeds and membranes from chiles (wear gloves); set aside.
• Shake coriander and caraway seeds in a skillet over medium heat until you start to smell the spice, about 2 minutes. Use a mortar and pestle to crush toasted seeds; add cumin, mint, and salt, and crush until finely ground. Transfer spices to a blender and add roasted bell peppers, chiles, garlic, lemon juice, and vegetable oil; puree until smooth. Drizzle in extra-virgin olive oil at the end, blending for only a few seconds.

HARISSA

Steps:

• Wear rubber gloves to seed the chilies. Take the stems off and remove the seeds. Place in a bowl and cover with hot or boiling water. Place a small plate or a lid over the chilies to keep them submerged in the water. Soak for 1 hour, and drain.
• Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop in the garlic. When it is all chopped and adhering to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down. Add the drained chilies, the spices and the salt. Process until everything is chopped. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides. Turn on again, and with the machine running add 2 tablespoons water and the olive oil. Process until the mixture is smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary.
• Transfer the sauce to a jar. Wipe the inside edges of the jar with a paper towel, then pour on a film of olive oil to cover the harissa. Top with a lid and refrigerate. The harissa will keep for 6 weeks in the refrigerator if you top it up with olive oil after each use.

TUNISIAN HARISSA SAUCE

Steps:

• Pour boiling water over chilies and soak until reconstituted and completely soft, about 20-30 minutes.
• Drain and remove seeds and stems. Blend chilies with garlic and olive oil in a food processor.
• Add salt and spices and blend to form a paste, adding a little bit more olive oil, if necessary.

TUNISIAN HARISSA

Steps:

• Cut off the tops of the dried red peppers, and deseed them.
• Soften them in a bowl of water for a half hour, then put them in a colander to drain them a bit.
• Take the skins off the garlic.
• Put them in a blender, add the red peppers, the salt, caraway, coriander, and 1 teaspoon of water.
• Also, add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Blend this until it is like a paste.
• Add olive oil to taste.
• The oil will lessen somewhat the intensity of the spice.