You’ve probably seen me use harissa—possibly my all-time favorite hot sauce—in numerous recipes on this site. Any savory dish is improved with a tiny spoonful of this.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 45 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers, halved and seeded
- 6 Fresno chile peppers
- 1 habanero pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon caraway seeds, or more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon coriander seeds, or more to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried mint
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven’s broiler and set the oven rack at about 6 inches from the heat source. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place red bell peppers with cut sides down onto the prepared baking sheet. Cook under the preheated broiler until the skin of the peppers has blackened and blistered, 5 to 8 minutes. Place the blackened peppers into a bowl and tightly seal with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to steam as they cool, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard skins.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add Fresno and habanero chiles and cook uncovered over medium heat until vegetables start to soften, about 3 minutes; drain and set aside to cool. Remove seeds and membranes from chiles (wear gloves); set aside.
- Shake coriander and caraway seeds in a skillet over medium heat until you start to smell the spice, about 2 minutes. Use a mortar and pestle to crush toasted seeds; add cumin, mint, and salt, and crush until finely ground. Transfer spices to a blender and add roasted bell peppers, chiles, garlic, lemon juice, and vegetable oil; puree until smooth. Drizzle in extra-virgin olive oil at the end, blending for only a few seconds.
- If you have a gas stove, you may use an open flame to roast the red pepper. Turn heat to medium high and roast pepper over the flame, turning occasionally until the skin has blackened and blistered, 8 to 10 minutes. Place peppers in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let steam. When cool, strip and discard skins.
- Substitute any red chiles for Fresno chiles.
Reviews
Perfect as is. Usually steam instead of boil peps Sometimes I swap different chilis (cherry/chipotle to keep it bright red, jalapeno/thai/serrano work too), and weights when fresnos aren’t available in high quantities. Gotta have a habanero.
The sauce is awesome.
I did have to make changes because I grew chocolate habaneros and they are very hot. I also grew Thai Chili pepper, again pretty hot. So my sauce came out very hot, but I just used less when I put it the dishes I cooked. I am going to make it again this year because I’m going to grow milder peppers too.
I did have to make changes because I grew chocolate habaneros and they are very hot. I also grew Thai Chili pepper, again pretty hot. So my sauce came out very hot, but I just used less when I put it the dishes I cooked. I am going to make it again this year because I’m going to grow milder peppers too.
I left out the chile & habanero peppers and it was great.
I fell in love with Harissa after buying a ‘Harrisa salsa’ last week. I wanted to try a simpler one, but couldn’t find the birds-eye chili peppers it called for. This one balances the sweet and heat and earthy depth of spice. A perfect marinade for chicken or dipping sauce. I left out the habanero, as I didn’t have any available.
I’m addicted to this – mine came out a bit more liquid than I anticipated – but the flavor is amazing and I’ll be making it again and again playing with different peppers. The slow heat is just what I was looking for! This was also fun to make! Thanks so much for sharing!!!
This is so delicious! I had to use different hot peppers and fresh mint, but all the same seasonings. It’s super good. Thanks again Chef John!
This was wonderful. I made this to serve with Halal Cart-Style Chicken and Rice with White Sauce. I’ve not been able to find harissa hot sauce where I live, but this tasted fantastic. I upped the amount of chiles because I like spicy food. I will make this to go with all med dishes I make in the future until I find a better recipe (I’m not holding my breath).
First time making Harissa and as usual, Chef John’s cooking techniques made it relatively easy for this novice to pull it off. I could not find the fresno peppers so instead used one habinaro with 3 Jalapeños and the two red bell peppers. It was spicy but not overwhelming and tasty.
This is an amazing yet different sauce from the usual. I love hot, and it’s hot, but in a really nice way. The texture is wonderful as well. A very unique and hot flavor that tastes fresh – that is, other sauces and spiced dips etc often have a ‘preservative’ component, but this is obviously fresh and clearly unique.
This sauce may not be traditional, but it is AMAZING on almost everything – pizza, meat, rice, you name it. I added 2 habaneros with all the seeds because I really like spice and it was good, although I would have liked it spicier. It has a gorgeous color and flavor (the sauce is nothing without the spices) and it reminds me of the spicy sauce at a Himalayan restaurant nearby that I was trying to recreate.
This is the second time I made it. This time I substituted one red pepper with a glass of roasted piquillo peppers. Really loved both versions! This is is by far one of the best chili sauces. So flavorful and well-balanced! I like to pair it with couscous and greek yogurt but it really goes with everything! Thanks for another excellent recipe, Chef John! Keep up the good work!
Thank You Chef John for another wonderful recipe. I usually don’t write reviews if I change the recipe but this absolutely was amazing. I didn’t have caraway seeds so I used cumin and it worked just fine. kept everything else the same. my hubby and 13 year old daughter loved it too.
I love it spec and hot
03/09/17 Made it! really good. Used Chipotle peppers instead of Fresno’s because they weren’t available. Still came out fantastic.
Good
This is my third try making harrissa and I’m sticking with this recipe. I also used fresh jalapeno peppers instead of Fresno and it turned out great.
We love this sauce, goes great on eggs or meat. I upped the habanero peppers and substituted olive oil. I also use fresh cilantro instead of the coriander seed because I grow this. Plus I will use lime if I don’t have any lemon on hand.
YUM! I had a hard time getting the membranes off the peppers though. I might blanch a little longer next time. I also need the coriander and caraway seeds. I looked up substitutions and was able to use cilantro, dill, and parsley. I can only imagine how much better it would be with the exact recipe.
Background: grew up in Texas, travelled the world in the military and after, and grew up to love all things hot. THIS is the best hot sauce I’ve tasted bar-none. Only had one red bell, no mint, and no Fresnos, so instead of traipsing to the store for them I used a 12oz jar of roasted red peppers (less the juice) plus the red bell I roasted. Substituted 4 jalapenos and about a Tblsp Sriracha to get the heat up, and used Basil rather than Mint. Not quite what you may have intended with my substitutions but WOW–Chef John my hat’s off to you. A great balance between taste and heat. Thanks for your efforts as your recipes are always winners. Been cooking for over 40 years–still learning!