Recently I’ve been cooking with more heat… not from the stove top, but heat as in spice! Now anyone who knows me well knows that spicy food was/slightly still is my nemesis. I’m a California girl who adores Mexican food but can’t put jalapeños on anything because they’re too spicy. What a shame, right? Anyway, back to harissa paste. This is a paste that’s typically used in Moroccan/Tunisian dishes. It’s spicy, herby, salty… all of the best things in life! I make shakshuka often (I’ll post that recipe soon) and I love to add a little harissa to the tomato sauce to add some heat and depth of flavor. I found the basic recipe here (http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-harissa-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-190188), which I’ve modified to what I like (below).

Let’s start with the chilies. I used 3oz ancho chilies and 1oz cascabel chilies (you could do 2oz and 2 oz but the cascabels are a little spicier, hence the lighter hand), which I got from the Mexican section of the grocery store by me, which always has the best prices on spices. I put those in a heat-proof bowl and got them softening up. This takes about 30 mins and once they’re done, they should look a little something like this:

After they’re done soaking, strain with a sieve but keep the chili water! You may need it later 🙂

While the chilies are soaking, take the following spices and toast them in a dry pan until fragrant, stirring often.

1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds

Once that’s done, put them in a mortar and pestle (or if you’re lazy like me, a coffee-grinder-turned-spice-grinder) and grind until a medium-fine dust. Once that’s done and your chilies are done soaking, put everything in a food processor and spin until smooth.

This sauce is good in shakshuka, with scrambled eggs, on pizza, in traditional Moroccan dishes… really with anything. This recipe makes about 1 cup, and you’ll want to seal it in an airtight container with a thin layer of olive oil on the top and put it in the fridge. It will keep about a month.

Harissa Paste
4 oz dried chilies (I use 3 oz ancho and 1 oz cascabel)
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for storing

Put dried chilies in a heat-proof bowl and cover with boiling water, let sit 30 mins to soften. In the meantime toast the seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, stirring often. De-seed and de-stem the chilies after the 30 mins and add them with all of the other ingredients into a food processor. Process until smooth. Taste once it’s done and add anything you think would make it better, keeping in mind that the flavors will continue to deepen for about 2 days in the fridge. Transfer to airtight container and cover with a thin layer of olive oil and put on everything.