Harissa: Spice Paste And Powder From The Delicious Maghreb Cuisine

The spice Harissa, which comes from North Africa, consists of a mixture of different ingredients, the heat of which gives popular dishes such as falafel, hummus, and couscous a real kick. We reveal how you can make and use harissa paste or powder yourself.

Mixture and use of harissa

You can buy the harissa spice paste or powder mix ready-made, but you can also easily make your own. You don’t need extensive expert knowledge of spices for this. There is no one recipe for the spice paste or powder and you can mix different spices according to your own taste and stock. For the basic mixture, for example, suffice

• 10 to 12 dried chillies,
• 1 to 2 cloves of fresh garlic,
• 1 to 2 tsp ground cumin or cumin seeds,
• 1 tsp coriander or coriander seeds,
• ½ tsp salt
• and olive oil.

The spices are finely ground in a mortar or blender and mixed with the olive oil to form a paste that can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two months. Harissa can be used for up to four months in unopened jars. You can also omit the oil, prepare the harissa mixture as a powdered spice and stir into a paste when needed. The advantage: the powder can be stored for a very long time if stored properly.

Typical dishes with harissa

Depending on what you want to season with harissa, you can change the basic recipe as you like. You can add mint for an oriental lamb, for example, and the fruity note of tomato paste goes very well with a pasta dish. Olives, peppers, cayenne pepper, vinegar, and lemon juice are other possible ingredients. Whether mild or very hot harissa, the seasoning is often used for Moroccan recipes and generally for North African and Maghreb cuisine. The delicious Merguez sausages, for example, get their typically spicy aroma from harissa, as do couscous and falafel. Marinate your grilled or roasted meat overnight with the paste or refine your goulash and soups with it – completely new taste experiences are guaranteed!

Preparation and storage tips

There are a few tricks to teasing out the ultimate in flavor from a homemade harissa. So it is advisable to use whole spices and crush them yourself. If you roast them briefly in a pan without fat beforehand, the aromas will develop even better. You should soak the chillies for about half an hour before processing them further. The sharpness can be reduced by partially or completely removing the seeds. Pay attention to cleanliness when filling and storing the paste to avoid mold growth. The glass and lid should be boiled before filling. Always wipe off any remaining paste from the rim of the glass and cover the surface of the mass with olive oil.