Harissa paste is usually made from dried chillies, garlic, olive oil and toasted cumin seeds, caraway seeds, and coriander seeds. It’s deliciously versatile and can be added to any meat, roast chicken or fish to brighten up the flavours with a fragrant kick.
Introduce it to your burger mix, add it to a salad dressing for some spicy zing, use it in pasta and mix it into hummus – and, one of my favourites, spreading it liberally over roasted vegetables to liven things up.
Rose harissa is a variation that includes dried rose petals or rose water to soften the heat of the chillies and add an unexpected floral flavouring. You have to try it.
Harissa squid is so easy to make at home and is a feast when you have weekend guests. You can double it or triple it to suit the numbers and, if you prefer, use whole tubes instead of rings (with the heads, if you’re not too squeamish).
Crispy Harissa Squid
Ingredients
For the squid
- 10 squid tubes cleaned and sliced into thin rings
- 2 tbsp harissa paste
- 1 tbsp black pepper freshly cracked
- 1 tbsp light sea salt flakes
- 1 cup self-raising floor
- 20 ml vegetable oil for frying
- 2 lemon wedges to serve
For the mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 4 tsp harissa paste
Instructions
- Place the harisa paste, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix to combine
- Add the squid rings and toss to coat
- Set aside to marinate for about 15 minutes
- Half fill a large pan with oil and place over a medium heat until the oil has reached a temperature 350 °F
- Add the flour to the squid mixture and toss until well coated and the rings are sticky
- Add the squid rings to the hot oil in batches, until golden and crisp
- Drain on paper towel until ready to serve
- Make the mayonnaise by mixing together the mayonnaise, harissa paste and garlic
- Serve the squid with lemon wedges and harissa mayonnaise for dipping
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