Orange Harissa
Introduction
Harissa is an unforgettable staple that can sneakily slip your mind unless you keep it on hand. We make ours with smoky chiles; plenty of olive oil and a touch of orange for sweetness. Once it's within arm's reach; we bet you'll use it in everything. Scrambling eggs? Fold a spoonful of harissa and a handful of cilantro in at the end. Grilling pork; chicken; fish or veg? Stir the bright paste into yogurt and thin with water for an easy drizzling sauce. Turn it into a sauce by stirring through olive oil and citrus; then spoon over roasted or seared fish; mushrooms or cabbage. It's marvelous in tomato sauce; too (try it in this simple shakshuka). Or add it to aioli; serve as part of a plateau or a mixed grill; and spread/dunk the night away!
Ingredients
- 1 guajillo chile
- 5 morita chiles
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1 tablespoon aleppo pepper
- 1 tablespoon urfa biber chile
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 sundried tomatoes (or 1 tablespoon tomato paste)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Zest and juice of 1 orange
- sea salt
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- Water (as needed)
Instructions
Toast the whole chiles in a hot oven or in a pan on the stove; turning them once or twice; for 3-4 minutes; once they’re pliant and you can smell them from across the room; they’re ready. Transfer them to a bowl; pour boiling water over top; and let them sit and soften for 15 minutes. Once completely soft; de-stem and de-seed the chiles and set aside.Toast the cumin; coriander and caraway in a pan until just fragrant. Let cool; grind; and tip into a blender. Add the softened chiles; aleppo and urfa flakes; garlic cloves; tomatoes (as-is if oil-packed; softened in boiling water if dry); citrus juice and zest and a good pinch of sea salt to the blender; too. Puree while slowly pouring in the olive oil; pausing to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed. Once you've added all of the oil; drizzle in water as needed to get things to a smooth; creamy place. Stop and take a taste: Add salt; if necessary; and a bit more orange juice if the orange flavor isn’t coming through.The final result should be immensely flavorful; a tad sweet (from that orange action) and just too spicy to eat in giant bites off a spoon.
