Recipe: Harissa, the exotic garlic chilli paste from Africa

Harissa has been relied upon by cooks in North Africa for seasoning cooked meats and vegetables for a long long time. It’s very dependable, and highly flexible to most food. This sauce adds a wonderful depth of flavour to bring a spark to any dish, for instance a lightly spread onto falafel, rubbed onto slow cooked lamb, or served as a dip alongside bitesized snacks. This recipe is quite spicy, so use only a little bit of Harissa at a time. Thanks to the garlic, salt, and lemon used, Harissa should be safe to store in the fridge for up to 2-3 weeks.

Recipe: Harissa Paste

Ingredients

• 100 grams Regency Harissa
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Extra Pink himalayan salt (to taste, optional)
• Extra Lemon juice (to taste, optional)
• additional extra virgin olive oil to get runnier consistency as you prefer.

Cooking Method

1. Mix the Harissa with Extra Virgin Olive oil in a deep small saucepan, cook on gentle heat for a few minutes.
2. Taste and add more salt and lemon juice if you need.
3. Transfer to a sterilized 1-pint glass jar add more oil if you want a runnier paste.
4. Refrigerate, topping off with a little more oil after each use. Harissa paste will keep for up to 3 weeks.

photo: Pyrogenic