Harissa with Serriana Olive Oil

Harissa with Serriana Olive Oil is the spicy sauce that accompanies a Moroccan or North Africa Tagine or Couscous. 

It's easy and quick to make. Here's how to do it.

Essentially, this is a sauce made of roast peppers and roast garlic - with chilli peppers and spices. 

Use lots of Serriana olive oil to bath the peppers, garlic and spices before roasting.

I used the following ingredients

4 Tablespoons of Serriana Olive Oil.

1.5 large red peppers (500 to 700gs), deseeded and cut into rectangular pieces

6 garlic cloves (with their skins on)

1 to 4 fresh chilli peppers (seeds removed) or chilli flakes. The amount to use depends on how hot and spicy you want your Harissa to be.

1 Tablespoon of Turmeric powder

1 Tablespoon Cumin powder

Firstly, make sure everything is well mixed, that oil covers the pepper pieces and garlic cloves and the spices are evenly distributed.

Then, lay everything out on a large baking tray. Check that the peppers are laid skin-side-up. 

Like this...

Next, bake for 1 hour at 125 degrees centigrade.

 You should be able to note a lovely roast peppers smell when it is ready.

Remove the backing tray from the oven an pick out roasted garlic gloves. 

You want to shell and remove their skins. They will be hot, so remove with a spoon and allow to cool down first.

Then, place everything in a blender, or allow to cook and chop down small.

Finally, fry the mixture for 7 to 8 minutes in a little Serriana olive oil

You are now ready to serve your Harissa with Serriana Olive Oil. Typically, it is served cold as a condiment to a large dish - such as a tagine. However, it also be used as a chutney or an accompaniment to other dishes where a bit of extra spice helps release the flavours.

Final tip - if you want to preserve your Harissa with Serriana Olive Oil, then place in a clean jar and to protect the sauce, cover the top with a little extra oil as suggested here.