Harissa

Jan 18, 2016

Harissa is the most famous Arabic sauce made with red peppers, chili and various seasonings, varying between regions and between countries. It is the ultimate, hot, accompaniment to either Arabic appetizers or meat. The Arabic appetizer-lovers who can stand its strong heat can never forget it after the first try.

So did a friend of our Facebook page who once enjoyed this sauce abroad. Seeing a relative Facebook post of ours, he got reminiscent of its taste and asked us for the recipe. That is how Mariam shares the recipe not only with him but with all the customers and the internet friends of the large Massaya family.

Ingredients:

• 2-2.5 kg of Florina red peppers as succulent as possible
• 1 teacup of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of salt
• 2 tablespoons of chili pepper (according to how hot you want it to be)
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (according to how hot you want it to be)
• 1 tablespoon of white pepper
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 pinch of sugar

Steps:

1. Clean peppers removing seeds and internal fibers
2. Boil the peppers in a pan with water to the extent that the peel is easily peeled off. Be careful (!) not to let them over-boil and melt.
3. Peel the peppers with a small knife. Be aware that your hands will get a red color. It would be good to use an old tablecloth for underneath when peeling the peppers because the stains are difficult to remove.
4. Paste the peeled peppers in the blender until they obtain a creamy texture
5. Then pour the pepper cream in a saucepan, along with all the spices and the olive oil. Boil at very low heat, with the pan half-covered, stirring often to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan until it becomes a thick paste. Warning (!). When the peppers boil, they sprinkle liquid all around and can stain your garments.
6. Try the paste shortly before the end of cooking, adding more chili or cayenne pepper according to your preferences and according to the heat strength of the spices you have used.
7. Remove from fire and place into jars and after cooling down, close well and keep them in the refrigerator

The above recipe will render approximately two large one-liter jars, according to the quality of the peppers you will find.

Good luck and good hot dives in your harissa plate.