One of Pete’s plans for 2010 is to establish a permaculture garden in our small suburban backyard. My mum donated one of her chilli plants to start us off and, even though it’s still in a pot, this small shrub has fruited abundantly – here’s just a small portion of our harvest!
I turned the chillies into harissa sauce, using a recipe I put together years ago. It’s adapted from a recipe in Dave Dewitt’s A World of Curries, and is very simple to make, providing you have a food processor (I use a mini one). The quantities are pretty loose – use whatever you have on hand in amounts that suit your personal preferences.
- 7 large red chillies, medium heat
- 4 red bullet chillies, hot
- 2 teaspoons caraway seed
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground paprika (I sometimes use smoked paprika)
- ½ teaspoon Malden salt flakes
- 30 or more fresh mint leaves
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 10 cloves of peeled garlic
- water
1. Wash and deseed the chillies. I usually wear gloves to do this, because I’m a wuss. For this batch, I used a dozen of our red chillies, as I didn’t have any long red ones.
2. Place the chillies, garlic and all the spices in the bowl of a small food processor or blender. Add the mint leaves and pulse to combine, then add the olive oil and enough water to create a thick sauce.
3. Scrape the harissa into a clean sterilised jar and cover it with a thin film of olive oil. Best to use the sauce within a couple of weeks, as it doesn’t have any vinegar or lots of salt to preserve it.
As I mentioned before, this is a very adaptable recipe, and I tend to use whatever chillies I have on hand, and then pack the little food processor with as many mint leaves as I can jam in. I also prefer to use spearmint rather than peppermint, if given a choice. Allow a couple of days for the flavours to meld together, then serve on everything from carrot sticks to roast chicken!
I’ve not made harissa with mint leaves before but it sounds good, so think I ought to try it. Think I’m probably with you on the spearmint. We grow quite a lot of chillies (in our permaculture plot) and I make a few bottles of chilli sauce each year which lasts really well and I think tastes pretty damn good.
I love to use harissa & you made it from scratch!!
I am so impressed!!! Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe & I am going to make it tonight!
Choclette, I think there are two things which really stand out in this version – the mint and the caraway seeds. I can’t wait until our garden starts producing – would love a good recipe for chilli sauce if you can spare it, please? We’ve made chilli jam before, but not a proper sprinkling sauce…
Sophie – thank you! Make sure you let it rest in the fridge a couple of days to let the flavours smooth out!
Thanks for the tip!
Hi Celia
Here’s a link to my chilli sauce recipe.
http://choclogblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/chilli-sauce.html
Choclette, thanks – I’ve bookmarked it to try when our chilli plant starts producing properly!
Woman….I can NOT keep up. I’ve only just gotten round to my meatloaf – which I haven’t actually made and now something new….Mwah. BTW, I’m having a special giveaway on my blog :-). ♥
This would be the perfect meatloaf accompaniment, Oz! :) Will definitely check out your site now..