Very Versatile Rose Harissa Paste

We are back after a break in May where we went camping, celebrated birthdays and a wedding, had trips to the beach, made plans with family and friends and generally took a bit of time to be less busy and more relaxed. It has been so nice. But now we are back with a kick-ass recipe for your summer 2021 BBQ game. Introducing our very own take on a rose harissa paste.

Just like magic, the sun has made an appearance in the UK after what has felt like 10 months of winter. This last week has been glorious as we have embraced meeting up with family and friends and feeding a crowd great BBQ food from our back garden.

We eat a very flexible diet in our house and we don’t always plan our meals out. I like to have things like this rose harissa paste to hand to help me when I need a bit of inspiration. Whatever your diet this paste is very versatile. It is a make-ahead delight. I have kept this paste in the fridge for up to three weeks, and although I have never frozen this rose harissa you absolutely could.

I make this in the food processor for speed and the best texture. If you have a blender that would work too. I have also made this paste in the pestle and mortar. It was still very good although the texture was different. If you make it this way my advice is to cut the chillies with some scissors to help break the tough flesh down first and use some sea salt to help break the ingredients down.

I use a jar of roasted peppers in the video because it is simple and I usually have a jar in the fridge/cupboard. If you don’t or you have more time you can roast your own. I use the hob for this, placing the peppers directly on the flame and turning when I get the colour I want. I then cover and leave them to fully cool down before peeling them. The skin should slide away in your hands. You can read about the different ways to roast and store peppers on BBC Good Food.

This is a recipe that you will use time and time again. It’s a great way to bring your food to life. Over the years I have used this paste in many different ways. I have smother chicken wings in it, cook a whole chicken, cover and fried prawns, coated veggie and meat kebabs for the bbq. I have dressed roasted veg and grilled fish in this paste. I have used this paste on my roast potatoes and I have most recently made rose harissa wedges which were a bit of a show stopper.

I’ve mixed this rose harissa paste with extra lemon juice to dress a salad. Or with mayonnaise to make a rose harissa mayo chicken sandwich (stuffed with rocket and mango chutney — it was insanely good). The point I am trying to make is that there is so much you can do with this recipe. It takes fifteen minutes to make and sits in your fridge for you to dip in and out of as you find new and exciting ways to bring your food to life.

Rose harissa paste

We eat a very flexible diet in our house and we don't always plan our meals out. I like to have things like this rose harissa paste to hand to help me when I need a bit of inspiration. Whatever your diet this paste is very versatile. It is a make-ahead delight. I have kept this paste in the fridge for up to three weeks, and although I have never frozen this rose harissa you absolutely could. There is so much you can do with this recipe. It takes fifteen minutes to make and sits in your fridge for you to dip in and out of as you find new and exciting ways to bring your food to life.

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Prep Time 15 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine Arabic

Equipment

• Food processor / blender

Ingredients

  

• makes roughly 500ml
• 10 whole dried chillies rehydrated by soaking in boiled water for ten minutes
• 7 cloves garlic crushed
• 3 tbs cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp caraway seeds
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 150-200 g roasted red pepper
• 7 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp rose water
• juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

 

• Soak your dried chillies in boiled water. Peel and crush your garlic.
• Dry fry the cumin, coriander and caraway seeds until gently toasted – be careful not to burn them.
• Add to a food processor or pestle and mortar, with a bit of sea salt to grind your toasted spices.
• If you don’t have a food processor for the next bit then you can use a blender or a pestle and mortar. If using the latter you will want to cut your chillies up with some scissors to help break them down.
• In your food processor add the drained chillies to the ground spices along with the crushed garlic. Give it a good blitz.
• Then add your paprika, roasted red peppers and tomato puree. Give it another blitz. Scrape down the bowl partway through to ensure all ingredients are incorporated and keep going until your have an even, finely chopped, thick paste.
• Now we are going to add some liquid. It is important that you add these once you have finished blitzing so ensure you are happy with the consistency before you go any further.
• Add your olive oil, rose water and lemon juice and gently mix through to fully incorporate.
• You can store this in a sterilised container with a little layer of extra virgin olive oil on top and keep it in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.
• You can use this paste on veg – it makes yummy rose harissa potato wedges, chicken, fish, seafood, tofu… You could even add a few tablespoons to the base of soups and stews to spice things up.

Video

Keyword chicken, harissa, rose