This isn’t a Mexican recipe (as far as I’m aware), but rather a very simple chilli paste that we make at home using dried Mexican chillies.
It’s so simple that I was reluctant to blog about it, but Pete pointed out that we were now making our second batch of it, which meant it had become a house staple and was therefore blogworthy.
It came about because I had a stash of dried Mexican chillies from Fiji Market that needed to be used. With all the fresh chillies from the garden, the dried ones had been largely ignored.
Inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi’s recent television program, we thought we’d try making a Tunisian style harissa. On the show, a huge quantity of rehydrated dried chillies were passed through a hand-cranked mincer with a little fresh garlic and salt. Here’s the clip from YouTube:
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We omitted the garlic (at the time we didn’t have any fresh on hand), and the Mexican chillies we used gave the finished paste a slightly sweet, not overly hot, raisiny flavour. We stored it in a jar and stashed it in the fridge.
Over the following weeks, we found ourselves spooning the paste into everything from Mexican-inspired mince and bean recipes, to ragus and pastas. It’s extremely versatile, and a dead easy way to add a complex, sweet and not too fiery kick to a wide range of dishes.
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Yesterday, we popped into Fiji Market to buy more chillies…
This morning I soaked 150g of dried chillies in hot tap water – I used a mixture of the Mexican chillies and added a few hot Kashmiri ones in for good measure. I placed a small plate on top to keep them all submerged…
Once the chillies were rehydrated, I de-seeded and de-stemmed them…
…and put them into the food processor with several generous pinches of fine sea salt (to taste). They were pulsed to a paste, with a little hot water added to help the process along (I needed to scrape the sides of the bowl down several times). Passing the chillies through the mincer produces a smoother texture, but the food processor is much easier to wash up.
The 150g dried chillies made a full 300ml jar of paste…
As this isn’t a proper preserve (and it hasn’t been hot water processed), I have no idea what the keeping time for it would be, but our last batch was fine in the fridge for a month or so (make sure you use a clean spoon each time you dip into it). We always use the paste as an ingredient rather than a condiment – if you were planning to eat it straight, you might want to add garlic to it as the Tunisians do.
Here’s the beef and beans we had for dinner tonight – made with home-ground grassfed mince, chilli paste, and leeks, asparagus, rainbow chard, coriander and parsley from the garden. Simple, but oh so good!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
What a wonderful use for an ingredient languishing in the pantry
Glenda, the old chillies were actually starting to get a bit buggy, so there was an urgent need to use them up! :)
This sounds wonderful and a great combination of flavors.
Thank you, the Mexican chillies are lovely and sweet, quite different from the brutally hot ones (although it still has a decent kick!).
Yum. I love the idea of new condiments, and I’m really enjoying watching Ottolenghi (sp?) on tv. The food just looks amazing. :-)
Ps I found you from Rebecca’s blog and have been lurking for a while. You have a lovely blog.
Janet, thanks for stopping by and your kind comments! I adore Rebecca! :) And hasn’t the Ottolenghi programme been fabulous!
Fantastic recipe – and a reminder that I too have lots of dried chilis that need to be used!
Chica, it’s actually a nice way to use them up – it makes them very accessible whenever we’re cooking rather than having to rehydrate and chop them up each time! :)
can I make this with fresh chillies? I don’t have a source of dry ones.. but I love the idea of having it on hand in the fridge.. c
Morning Celi, I think this would work with fresh chillies, but not sure how long it would keep in the fridge. Mind you, I’m not sure how long this one keeps in the fridge either.. ;-)
It does seem silly for me to dry them then rehydrate them!!
That would make me laugh!!
Your dinner of beef and beans looks delicious Celia, simple is the best sometimes especially when it is picked from the garden.
Jane, I was laughing with Pete about dinner last night – it was simple and hearty, but only because we’d already minced the beef, made the chilli paste and grown the veg. Something I know you understand only too well! :)
Isn’t it special and extra tasty to be able to put together a meal with all the produce from your own garden? Trying to figure out what you served the beef and beans over.
Norma, it’s over basmati rice! I know it’s hard to believe, but the rice we’re buying at the moment (Taj Classic) has the longest grains we’ve ever seen!
http://www.tajfoods.com.au/taj-classic-basmati-rice.html
love your idea of making a paste with the chillies celia..you avoided wasting them and produced a user friendly condiment to add to delicious dishes like the beef and beans..yum..x
Jane, thank you – they were going to be binned otherwise, and I didn’t want to waste such delicious (and expensive) chillies!
I love Fiji Market! And always end up buying way more than I should. This looks like a great condiment to have on hand.
Hehehe…I always come out with a basketful as well! :)
My mum would love this Celia in fact she’d probably just eat it spread on chicken. Now to find some dried chilis.
Claire, I’m pretty sure any dried chillies would work, but these Mexican ones made a nice change from the usual hot ones! You can buy them online from http://www.fireworksfoods.com.au (great source for lots of Mexican products!).
My tongue is tingling looking at those bowls and jars. Yum!
Aaah…fellow chilli lover! I know that feeling! :)
Oh dear, scary stuff for this chilli-phobic!
Chilli-phobic? I guess everyone’s tastebuds are different! :)
I usually worry about things being too simple that they’re not worth blogging about but I’d definitely blog this-it sounds delicious and so versatile!
Thanks love, it’s a nice thing to have in the fridge! :)
What a fantastic array of chillies :)
Tandy, aren’t they glorious? And they all look and taste quite different too!
What a great idea. I love chillies but can’t stomach too much any more but this would be a great way of getting a chilli hit & flavour without going overboard. The beef and beans look wonderful.
ED, some of the milder Mexican chillies might be just right for you – they’re like hot capsicums!
That looks like such a lovely family meal and I love how pretty much the only thing you needed to buy was the meat. I had no idea it could be so easy to make chilli paste xx
Charlie, thank you – we had to buy the rice and corn chips too! :) But everything was in the freezer and pantry – this is our typical “what should we cook?” dinner.. xx
Love these chillis and regularly get a stash from Fiji market. I never thought to do this though…thanks darling one for the idea. Do you ever buy the annato cooking cubes. These two together could rock the world
Tania, I’ve never tried those! I’ll look out for them next time, thanks for the headsup!
Only recently did I learn that one of my markets makes their own harissa. I’ve bought some and really like it. Makes me wonder whether it’s worth going through the trouble of making it myself. Still, I’d like to try my hand making a chili paste and when I do, I know where to look for the recipe. Yours sounds like just the thing I’d like to make. Thanks, Celia.
John, here’s the link to my original harissa recipe, I do like that one better as an eating sauce, as I LOVE caraway. This paste is a really nice flavour enhancer for cooking with.
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2010/01/28/harissa/
Thank you so much, Celia. Although I like the one I’ve bought, I do want to try a homemade version. I’ve saved your recipe and will use it when I need more harissa.
Oh my goodness, Celia, that sounds delicious, I can almost smell it from here! Love love love Ottolenghi!
Lizzy, isn’t he just fantastic! I loved all his shows and his cookbooks are superb!
Love a spicy bite Celia! Isn’t it amazing the taste variety of the different chilies? I love the smokey, raisiny flavour, and a nice deep heat. Great recipe sweetie, and if it’s something you love it’s definitely blog worthy :) xox
Thanks darling, and yes, I’m always amazed at how different the chillies taste, especially the Mexican ones. I left out the chipotles in this dish – I find them a bit too hot for it!
I love this and have both dried chilies and garlic handy, so I am so making this immediately!
Cindy, enjoy! I loved the video clip with the Tunisian ladies eating it straight on crackers – bit too potent for me! :)
That’s a great idea. We like a little heat but not every day and, when I buy fresh chilies, I often end up with wasting some. I will look for some and make this.
Pat, did you know that fresh chillies freeze really well? I just rinse and dry them and pop them in a ziplock bag in the freezer. They go a little bit mushy, but they’re still perfect for cooking with!
This is great! I have a pile of chilies, the last from the summer. Thanks, Maz!
Have fun Maz! Chillies rule! :)
Great idea Celia as I have dry chilies…and yes, garlic in it will be a very handy condiment…
Thanks for the recipe and hope you are having a great week :D
Juliana, thank you! I’ve just bought bean curd sticks to try your recipe, will let you know how I go!
Another wonderful and so simple idea Celia. That mince and beans mix has my mouth watering too – and enthusiastically wondering how much rainbow chard and other veg gluts I could pack imto it!
Andrea, you made me smile – I have to be careful not to stuff so many greens into the dish to make it bitter, or everyone complains. A fair whack can go in before it reaches that point though! :)
I adore chilli, sauce and paste of all cultures and this one certainly looks fabulous! I’ve never seen those type of dried chilli’s before. Can you only get them from the markets?
Lisa, Fiji Market is actually a store, not a market, and it’s based in Newtown. You can also buy the chillies from Essential Ingredient (or at least, you used to be able to, I haven’t been in in ages) as well as online from http://www.fireworksfoods.com.au x
I’ve always stayed away from chilies because I associate them with getting your brain blown out & your nasal passages cleared but you may have convinced me that they don’t have to be killers. The beef and beans looks really appetizing & perfect for this cooler weather we’ve been having.
Di, I think you need to pick chillies carefully – some of the larger Mexican ones aren’t too hot, but I’ve had a habanero once which left me unable to taste anything for several days, and I’ve nearly died trying green Indian chillies. Buyer beware! :)
Oh you’re not kidding! A while back my husband went on a trip & called me that night…”what the hell kind of toothpaste did you buy?” Well, turned out he had grabbed my tube of arthritis cream which is capsaicin and brushed his teeth with it. He compounded the problem of course when he tried to get rid of the burning by splashing water in his mouth & of course that didn’t go well.
Di, that is TERRIBLE! I know that cream, it’s brutal, I can’t imagine brushing your teeth with it!! Was your husband ok?
Isn’t it though! I had to stop using it because I couldn’t even stand it on my skin. He was fine, just did a lot of spitting and ate bread after I explained that water kind of activates it. He’s much more careful now when he packs for trips.
Love the smokey flavor – great idea to make up your own!
Thanks Heidi! It really is small batch stuff – just one jar at a time in the fridge – as I have no idea how long it will keep for before it goes mouldy! :)