spice essentials: homemade harissa paste

How To Make spice essentials: homemade harissa paste

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  1

  PREP/PREPARE
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  2

  Gather your Ingredients (mise en place).
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  3

  Place the dried chilies into a large bowl, and cover with boiling water.
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  4

  Let them sit for 30 – 40 minutes.
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  5

  Chef’s Tip: As you have already figured out, the chilies are the star of this recipe, so care should be taken to choose the right ones. I use a 50/50 blend of hatch, and ancho chilies; however, you could use hotter or milder chilies to suit your own creative tastes. It is totally up to you.
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  6

  Place the caraway, coriander, and cumin seeds into a small pan over medium heat.
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  7

  Shake the pan, so that the spices do not burn, and stop when they become fragrant, about 2 – 3 minutes.
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  8

  Remove the spices from the pan, and place into a spice or coffee grinder.
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  9

  Finely grind the spices.
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  10

  Chef’s Note: Toasting dry spices is called “blooming,” and it greatly enhances the flavor notes of the individual spices.
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  11

  Drain the chilies, and reserve the soaking liquid.
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  12

  Stem and seed the chilies.
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  13

  Add the chilies, dry spices, lemon juice, sun-dried tomatoes, and the baked garlic to a blender or mini-prep.
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  14

  Give the blender several 1-second pulses, until all the ingredients are thoroughly blended.
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  15

  With the blender or mini-prep set to medium, slowly add the olive oil.
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  16

  Chef’s Note: If the resulting paste is thicker than desired, add a bit of the reserved soaking water, a teaspoon at a time, until the desired thickness is achieved. But, remember that this is primarily a paste, and not a sauce.
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  17

  Stop and adjust the seasoning… Adding a bit more salt, if necessary.
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  Add to an air-tight container, and drizzle a bit more olive oil over the top.
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  Store in the fridge, tightly sealed, until ready to use.
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  20

  PLATE/PRESENT
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  Use this versatile paste in soups, stews, or as a spread for a burger… Brush it on a piece of pan-fried fish. Add it to a batch of hummus, or mix some with a bit of extra virgin olive oil, and use it for dipping crusty bread. Enjoy.
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  22

  Here is a really yummy recipe for a spicy wing dipping sauce: • 6 tablespoons sweet butter, unsalted • 6 tablespoons harissa sauce • 1 – 2 pinches cayenne pepper • 1/4 cup fresh clover honey Mix all the ingredients together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Allow to simmer for about 2 minutes, then cool… So yummy.
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  23

  Keep the faith, and keep cooking.
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