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| Fermented Pepper Rose Harissa |
Okay,
since I am not from Africa or anywhere near, coming to get to know
harissa was something like an exploratory safari, never knowing what is
around the next corner. I must confess, I have never even bought
harissa, so I have no basis for comparison. Still, from everything I
have read, "fiery" is most often applied among the descriptors for this
condiment. Maybe this is what has kept me from ever buying it. Just as I
have never bought Thai Red Curry Paste,
but always made my own version. Personally, I am not afraid of a little
heat, but too much means (to me) that I won't be able to use much,
therefore not being able to really taste what it is, and then of course,
my husband wouldn't be able to eat something if I made it too hot. So,
my own versions are mild, at best. I can always add a sprinkle of
cayenne to my plate, or a bit of sriracha, if I want more heat.
What is Harissa?
Harissa is a mainly a north African (Tunisia, Morocco, etc) condiment, made from peppers of some kind, be they hot dried chili peppers or a mixture of these hot peppers combined with red bell peppers. To these are added at minimum garlic and olive oil, and combined to make a paste.
At maximum? A whole lot of other flavors can be added in, but the main ones seem to be cumin, caraway, coriander, sometimes preserved lemon, sometimes rose petals and/or rose water, sometimes paprika, sometimes smoked or hot paprika, or both, or all three. Of course, as with anything else, the variety changes with each cook. So, is my harissa anything authentic? Probably not. But it's tasty. And not too hot.
Still, when I received my latest Saveur magazine and read about Cortney Burns and her preference for fermented things, and with a recipe for Harissa, well, I was wholly intrigued. I had no prior knowledge of Ms. Burns, but I took her concept for fermenting red bell peppers as the base for my harissa. After that, I went out on my own, adding things I thought would work for me. Some are in her recipe, others are ingredients I selected from other recipes I had read.
For example, I have seen the use of preserved lemon in some harissa recipes, and I happen to have a jar of preserved lemons (read: partially fermented) in the fridge. The amounts of spices varies widely from recipe to recipe. Cumin is low on my list of spices I really enjoy. If I taste a dominant flavor of cumin, it is way too much for me. If you love cumin, add in more!
I know there are various spices in Indian recipes that are misinterpreted, because whoever wrote a certain recipe knew what THEY were writing about, but others would not necessarily be in the know. "Bay Leaf" in India refers to another leaf entirely, called Tej Patta. Tej Patta tastes more like cinnamon that anything else. Certainly not at all like our domestic bay laurel leaf. And then I discovered that often when an Indian recipe calls for "caraway," they actually mean black cumin (Bunium persicum), which is totally different, and with completely different flavors. Black cumin is used in the Middle East, so could it be that when they write "caraway," they might actually mean black cumin? I may never know. But still I wonder...
And meanwhile, for this time at least, I used actual Caraway seed (Carum carvi).
And then, with anything fermented, since a heavy dose of salt is always part of the mix (this keeps down bacteria until the fermenting process takes hold), you end up with a highly salted mixture. In this instance, since the peppers are lightly fermented, and then dehydrated to a paste, that salt has now become a pretty concentrated and dominant part of the flavor. Then again, if you are careful with the salt in a dish, and use this harissa instead, things should balance out well.
Makes 2¼ cups, approximately
Special tools: dehydrator recommended
ONE WEEK AHEAD:
2.5 pounds red bell peppers
4 to 5 teaspoons Kosher salt
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1½ teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
⅓ to ½ cup olive oil
1 shallot, minced finely
8 cloves garlic, finely minced, or passed through a garlic press
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon hot ground chili powder (pure ground chilies)
¼ wedge of preserved lemon, finely minced, optional
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons food grade dried rose petals, ground, optional
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon rose water, optional
At least one week ahead, prepare the red bell peppers: Seed and core the peppers and cut into chunks. Set pieces into a high powered blender or food processor with the salt and puree finely. Pour this puree into a quart or slightly larger capacity jar, preferably with a bail wire closure. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the puree and close the jar. Set the jar in a dark area, preferably at 60 to 70 degrees. If the area is not dark, cover the jar with a towel to keep out light. Every day for the next 6 days, remove the plastic wrap and stir the mixture. Replace with clean plastic wrap onto the surface each day before sealing the jar. On the 7th day, the pepper puree should have fermented slightly (giving a mildly sour flavor) and will have separated into solids and liquids.
Pour this mixture into a wide, low container and set into a dehydrator at less than 115 degrees, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has the consistency of tomato paste. This can take 10 to 16 hours. Alternately, if your oven has a very low setting, it can be dried there, but will likely take less time. Watch carefully. Once the peppers reach the right consistency, you can proceed to making the harissa immediately, or put the paste into a jar in the refrigerator up to a week before using.
TO MAKE HARISSA: Place the coriander, caraway, fennel, peppercorns and cumin into a very hot, dry skillet and heat until very fragrant, taking care not to burn. Pour the toasted seeds onto a plate to cool, then grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in the same skillet over very low heat. Add in the minced shallot and garlic with the ground seeds, the paprika, hot pepper powder and preserved lemon. Stir well and allow this mixture to cook extremely gently for about 45 minutes. There should be no simmering, and little sign of cooking aside from the lovely aroma. Place the rose petals into the spice grinder and grind fine. Add these with the tomato paste and honey to the skillet and stir well. Allow to cook gently for another 5 minutes or more. Stir in the rose water and the fermented red pepper paste and stir well. Pour the mixture into a clean jar and refrigerate until needed.
My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.
What is Harissa?
Fermented Pepper Rose Harissa
Harissa is a mainly a north African (Tunisia, Morocco, etc) condiment, made from peppers of some kind, be they hot dried chili peppers or a mixture of these hot peppers combined with red bell peppers. To these are added at minimum garlic and olive oil, and combined to make a paste. 
At maximum? A whole lot of other flavors can be added in, but the main ones seem to be cumin, caraway, coriander, sometimes preserved lemon, sometimes rose petals and/or rose water, sometimes paprika, sometimes smoked or hot paprika, or both, or all three. Of course, as with anything else, the variety changes with each cook. So, is my harissa anything authentic? Probably not. But it's tasty. And not too hot.
My Inspiration
A couple of years ago I got heavily into fermenting foods. Fermenting foods is the earliest form of food preservation, and it is a lot safer than canning, despite peoples' fears. You see, botulism, that specter that hangs over us when we start home canning, ferments out during the fermentation process. While I loved the whole process of fermenting, and still have sauerkraut and fermented curtido in my fridge, as well as my Honey Fermented Cran-Blueberry Relish, my husband won't eat them. Don't precisely know why. So again, it's just me, and it takes a while to consume these things.Still, when I received my latest Saveur magazine and read about Cortney Burns and her preference for fermented things, and with a recipe for Harissa, well, I was wholly intrigued. I had no prior knowledge of Ms. Burns, but I took her concept for fermenting red bell peppers as the base for my harissa. After that, I went out on my own, adding things I thought would work for me. Some are in her recipe, others are ingredients I selected from other recipes I had read.
 |
| Preserved Lemon and Rose Petals |
For example, I have seen the use of preserved lemon in some harissa recipes, and I happen to have a jar of preserved lemons (read: partially fermented) in the fridge. The amounts of spices varies widely from recipe to recipe. Cumin is low on my list of spices I really enjoy. If I taste a dominant flavor of cumin, it is way too much for me. If you love cumin, add in more!
Another Case of Mistaken Identity?
One thing I am truly curious about is the use of caraway. I have seen caraway in breads, of course. And I have used caraway in my sauerkraut and other things German. But somehow it has never been seen in any of my Middle Eastern recipes before. This makes me wonder if, as with Indian cooking, caraway as the seed we know in the US, might be misinterpreted.I know there are various spices in Indian recipes that are misinterpreted, because whoever wrote a certain recipe knew what THEY were writing about, but others would not necessarily be in the know. "Bay Leaf" in India refers to another leaf entirely, called Tej Patta. Tej Patta tastes more like cinnamon that anything else. Certainly not at all like our domestic bay laurel leaf. And then I discovered that often when an Indian recipe calls for "caraway," they actually mean black cumin (Bunium persicum), which is totally different, and with completely different flavors. Black cumin is used in the Middle East, so could it be that when they write "caraway," they might actually mean black cumin? I may never know. But still I wonder...
And meanwhile, for this time at least, I used actual Caraway seed (Carum carvi).
And then, with anything fermented, since a heavy dose of salt is always part of the mix (this keeps down bacteria until the fermenting process takes hold), you end up with a highly salted mixture. In this instance, since the peppers are lightly fermented, and then dehydrated to a paste, that salt has now become a pretty concentrated and dominant part of the flavor. Then again, if you are careful with the salt in a dish, and use this harissa instead, things should balance out well.
Fermented Pepper Rose Harissa
 |
| Fermented Pepper Rose Harissa |
Makes 2¼ cups, approximately
Special tools: dehydrator recommended
ONE WEEK AHEAD:
2.5 pounds red bell peppers
4 to 5 teaspoons Kosher salt
----------------------------
1½ teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
⅓ to ½ cup olive oil
1 shallot, minced finely
8 cloves garlic, finely minced, or passed through a garlic press
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon hot ground chili powder (pure ground chilies)
¼ wedge of preserved lemon, finely minced, optional
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons food grade dried rose petals, ground, optional
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon rose water, optional
At least one week ahead, prepare the red bell peppers: Seed and core the peppers and cut into chunks. Set pieces into a high powered blender or food processor with the salt and puree finely. Pour this puree into a quart or slightly larger capacity jar, preferably with a bail wire closure. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the puree and close the jar. Set the jar in a dark area, preferably at 60 to 70 degrees. If the area is not dark, cover the jar with a towel to keep out light. Every day for the next 6 days, remove the plastic wrap and stir the mixture. Replace with clean plastic wrap onto the surface each day before sealing the jar. On the 7th day, the pepper puree should have fermented slightly (giving a mildly sour flavor) and will have separated into solids and liquids.
Pour this mixture into a wide, low container and set into a dehydrator at less than 115 degrees, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has the consistency of tomato paste. This can take 10 to 16 hours. Alternately, if your oven has a very low setting, it can be dried there, but will likely take less time. Watch carefully. Once the peppers reach the right consistency, you can proceed to making the harissa immediately, or put the paste into a jar in the refrigerator up to a week before using.
TO MAKE HARISSA: Place the coriander, caraway, fennel, peppercorns and cumin into a very hot, dry skillet and heat until very fragrant, taking care not to burn. Pour the toasted seeds onto a plate to cool, then grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder. Set aside.
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| Making the Harissa |
Heat the olive oil in the same skillet over very low heat. Add in the minced shallot and garlic with the ground seeds, the paprika, hot pepper powder and preserved lemon. Stir well and allow this mixture to cook extremely gently for about 45 minutes. There should be no simmering, and little sign of cooking aside from the lovely aroma. Place the rose petals into the spice grinder and grind fine. Add these with the tomato paste and honey to the skillet and stir well. Allow to cook gently for another 5 minutes or more. Stir in the rose water and the fermented red pepper paste and stir well. Pour the mixture into a clean jar and refrigerate until needed.
My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.
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