What is Harissa Sauce and how to use it in your cooking
Table of Contents
- What is Harissa Sauce?
- What is the flavour of Harissa Sauce?
- How hot is Harissa Sauce?
- Making your own harissa sauce
- The importance of blanching garlic
- What is Harissa Sauce used for?
- What is the difference between harissa paste and powder?
- Is paste better than powder?
- Where can I find harissa sauce?
- What can I use instead of harissa sauce? Harissa sauce substitutes
- Harissa Sauce Recipe
What is Harissa Sauce?
Harissa sauce is a more volumised version of the aromatic spice blend from North Africa. Harissa sauce ingredients consist of roasted red peppers, dried or powdered red chilli, cumin, coriander, caraway, garlic, smoked paprika, salt, fresh garlic, lemon juice and oil. Like all spice blends, the recipe varies from region to region with some versions containing herbs such as dried mint or oregano.
What is the flavour of Harissa Sauce?
As the sauce contains roasted red pepper, the base has a lightly sweet taste along with smokiness from the paprika. Cumin and caraway add earthiness and heat comes from the red chilli. Lemon, salt and oil bring all these flavours together to produce a delicious sauce reminiscent of ajvar, but with more depth and spice.
How hot is Harissa Sauce?
The heat and spiciness of harissa will depend on the type of chilli used and the balance of ingredients blended together. When buying shop-bought harissa paste there is no way to tell how spicy the blend will be. Different brands use different chilli types with varying levels of heat, that’s why it’s always an advantage to make your own batch at home.
Making your own harissa sauce
To know exactly what you are eating, it’s best to experiment by making your own blends, that way you are in control of which kind of chilli is used and how much you’d like to add. It also means you can play around with the measurements of additional ingredients such as cumin, paprika or garlic, therefore creating a blend perfectly suited to your tastes.
The importance of blanching garlic
As mentioned in the Harissa Paste Recipe, blanching garlic is an absolute must before adding to any sauce. As garlic oxidises, the taste becomes even stronger and can overtake all other flavours to the point where it is unpleasurable. Blanching garlic in water before use stops the oxidisation, takes away the harshness and leaves you with just the wonderful garlic flavour required.
What is Harissa Sauce used for?
Due to the roasted red pepper, this sauce version is ideally served alongside dips or as a condiment to meats, fish and vegetables. Place a bowl on the table of a BBQ for those who like a little heat. Apart from being served alongside Middle Eastern dishes such as charcoaled lamb, couscous or any other kind of stew, it goes very well inside kebabs, shawarma wraps, sandwiches, burgers or tacos.
What is the difference between harissa paste and powder?
There are actually 3 main types of harissa – Powder, Paste and Sauce. Each has its own uses and recipe. For detailed information on how to use each version in your cooking along with recipes, check out this detailed article on flaevor.com What is the difference between Harissa Paste, Harissa Powder and Harissa Sauce?
Is paste better than powder?
Harissa powder is simply the dried version peppers and spices blended together. This can also be mixed with oil to create a paste.
Where can I find harissa sauce?
Due to its growing popularity in Western culture harissa is now commonly found in the spice section of most commercial supermarkets. For more authentic brands try Mediterranean or Middle Eastern groceries, delis or buy online. Of course, the best way to experience harissa sauce is to make it yourself using the recipe below.
What can I use instead of harissa sauce? Harissa sauce substitutes
If you are missing ingredients a fast substitute with a similar flavour is ajvar. Take one jar of ajvar and add chilli to give it the same spicy kick as harissa. if you have cumin or smoked paprika in the cupboard stir 1/2 – 1 tsp of each through the sauce as well. Alternatively, a bottled smokey hot sauce would also work well as a substitute.
Harissa Sauce Recipe
See below for how to make your own batch at home
Harissa Sauce
Harissa Sauce is a hot aromatic spice blend from North Africa consisting of roasted red pepper, chilli, cumin, coriander, caraway, garlic, smoked paprika, salt, fresh garlic, lemon juice and oil.
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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes minutes
Servings: 1 jar
Ingredients
- 1 large red pepper paprika
- 2 hot red chillis such as birds-eye
- 1 small red onion
- 1/2 ground coriander
- 1/2 ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground caraway
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes
Instructions
Heat oven to 200°C. Rub red pepper in oil and roast for 40 minutes or until skin is blackened.
Chop onion into small pieces. Fill a bowl with water and a large pinch of salt and place chopped onion into the salty water. Soak for 10 minutes. This will help remove the raw bitter taste. Drain and set aside for later.
Transfer roasted pepper to a bowl, cover with clingfilm and rest for 5 minutes. After this time peel off the pepper’s thin layer of charred skin. Discard seeds.
Blanch the garlic: Peel garlic cloves and place in a small saucepan. Cover with cold water. Heat until just at boiling point, then drain. Cover again with fresh cold water and repeat the process 2 more times.
To make the sauce: Combine all harissa sauce ingredients in a food processor or small grinder and blend until smooth. Taste and season with salt as needed.
Storein an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
