Yotam Ottolenghi’s Rose Harissa: Homemade Harissa Recipe
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Nov 19, 2024 • 2 min read
Harissa is a North African chili paste that’s wonderful when stirred into soups and stews or spooned over roasted vegetables and meats. Store-bought harissas are available by the jar or tube at many Mediterranean markets or online, but making your own is a fun and easy way to customize the flavor, as Yotam does here with the addition of rosewater and dried rose petals. A word to the wise: Harissa has a serious kick, but you can remove the stems and seeds from the chilies after they rehydrate to bring the heat level down.
Learn From the Best
What Is Harissa?
Harissa is a spicy chile pepper paste used in Middle Eastern and North African cuisine. The word harissa comes from the Arabic harasa, which means “to crush or pound” and refers to the way the paste is made—by grinding chiles together with olive oil, garlic, salt, and spices like coriander and caraway. Harissa is a staple condiment in Tunisia and Morocco, where it is often homemade.
Yotam Ottolenghi’s Rose Harissa Recipe
makes
Ingredients
- 1
Place a large frying pan over high heat. Once the pan is very hot, add the chilies and garlic. Toast until fragrant and charred, about 2 minutes. Pick out the garlic and set aside. Transfer the chilies to a heat-proof bowl.
- 2
Pour enough boiling water over the chilies to cover them, and then weigh them down with a small plate. Soak for 30 minutes to soften and rehydrate, then strain. Roughly chop the chilies and add them to the bowl of a food processor.
- 3
Meanwhile, add the cumin, coriander, and caraway seeds to the same pan, and toast over medium-high heat until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the seeds to a mortar and pestle and roughly crush them before adding them to the food processor along with the chopped chilies, garlic, tomato paste, rose petals, sugar, and chili powder or paprika. Pulse a few times until roughly chopped and combined.
- 4
Add the lemon juice, half of the rosewater, the cider vinegar, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, and a pinch of salt to the food processor. Blitz until you have a coarse paste.
- 5
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and gently stir in the remaining rosewater and the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
- 6
Transfer the harissa to a sterilized airtight jar and keep refrigerated if not using right away. Harissa keeps, covered with a layer of oil, in the refrigerator for several weeks.
Become a better chef with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by culinary masters, including Yotam Ottolenghi, Gabriela Cámara, Chef Thomas Keller, Dominique Ansel, Gordon Ramsay, Alice Waters, and more.