The base of Tunisian cuisine, harissa is a spicy, savory, sour, umami-rich flavor bomb. It’s made mainly out of different peppers so I figured it should be made with the best, Mexican peppers.

Ingredients
– 1 red bell pepper
– 1 dried ancho pepper
– 5 dried guajillo pepper
– 15 dried arbol pepper
– 4 cloves of garlic
– Half a white onion
– 1 tablespoon tomato paste
– 2 tablespoons lemon juice
– 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
– 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
– 2 teaspoons coriander seed
– 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
– 1 teaspoon black pepper
– Half cup to 1 cup olive oil
– Salt to taste

Blister the red pepper on direct flame until the skin turns black, place it a plastic bag for it to “steam”. This is done so the skin can be peeled easily. While you wait 15ish minutes for that, boil some water and pour over the dried peppers in a bowl to get hydrated. This should also take 15-20 minutes.

In a dry skillet, toast the cumin, coriander, and black pepper until fragrant. Once toasted, grind with a mortar and pestle.


Peel off the skin from the bell pepper and take seeds out of all the peppers. Add everything but the olive oil in a food processor and blend. Once incorporated, drizzle half a cup of olive oil while blending. The consistency should be smooth, not pasty. Add olive oil accordingly.


After doing this a few times, I have realized it’s easiest to seed the dried peppers before hydrating and to salt at the end.