Homemade harissa paste
Ingredients
- 4 shallots or small onions
- 4 tablespoons frying oil
- 8 cloves garlic
- 8 chili peppers seeds removed, I used bird's eye chilies, they are very spicy, you can use less
- 4 teaspoons ground cumin
- 4 teaspoons ground dried coriander
- 2 teaspoons paprika powder
- 1 red bell pepper*
- 4 teaspoons tomato paste
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Chop onions, garlic, chili and bell pepper very finely.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onions, cook for about 6 minutes until translucent, then add the garlic, chili, and spices, cook for a minute.
- Add the bell pepper, cook for about 5 minutes, until tender.
- Add the tomato paste, cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, season with salt to taste.
- Pulse the content of the pan in a food processor until it becomes a thick paste.
- Store in the fridge, in a closed container. If the paste will be stored for more than a few days, it must be topped with a thin layer of olive oil, it can also be frozen.
Notes
You can use fresh bell pepper or roasted, both versions will be good, but I prefer it with roasted pepper. I wouldn't warm up the oven only for this one pepper, though. Use it only if you're roasting bell peppers also for other purposes.
How to roast bell peppers: Preheat the oven to 220 °C / 450 °F / Gas Mark 8, no fan and roast until tender and browned, set aside to cool, peel and remove the seeds, chop finely and cook as in the recipe.