Harissa paste

Makes 250g

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Hydrating time: 30 minutes

This hot, fiery chilli sauce originates from North Africa and adds depth of flavour to so many dishes - look at our harissa blog (Sunshine in a jar).

Ingredients
20 dried red chillies such as guajillo, ancho and chipotle
5 fresh chillies (optional)
4 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika
4 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
1 lemon, juiced
5 tbsps apricot jam
2 tbsps red wine vinegar
2 tsp ras el hanout
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for covering
1 tsp salt

Equipment needed
A 250g wide-necked jar with a non-metallic lid.

Method
Rehydrate the chillies by covering in boiling water for 40 minutes so they are really soft.

Meanwhile, while your chillies are rehydrating, sterilise your jar by heating your oven to 180c and washing your jar in hot soapy water, don’t dry, just put straight into the oven.

Once your chillies are soft, drain off the liquid and reserve.

Put all ingredients apart from the water and oil into a blender and start by pulsing until it breaks down a little, then blend until smooth. Scrape the sides a couple of times and blend again.  Add the olive oil while blending.

Spoon the paste into the warmed, sterilised jar.  Pour a little olive oil over the top to cover the mixture and seal.