When I’m planning a recipe for one of my classes I often find that due to time or equipment limitations, I have to simplify or distill a recipe down whilst still retaining the essential elements and flavours. And because I insist on cooking almost everything from scratch, this means I’ve come up with a fair few shortcuts over the years. This homemade harissa is one of my favourites. It takes a couple of minutes to prepare, requires no dry frying or grinding of spices, and is amazing on almost any meat or fish, such as this Harissa Roasted Chicken pictured below. It also makes a delicious vegetarian meal when mixed with roasted vegetables, cous cous and feta.
- 2 cloves garlic (crushed or finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1/2 lemon
- Large pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried chilis (optional)
- Mix all the ingredients together and spread over your chosen meat or fish (if possible allow to marinate for at least two hours, but preferably overnight)