RESSIPY TIME:

Harissa 1 (makes about half a jamjarful)
3 to 4 tbsp dried chili flakes
A bulb of garlic
About 2 tbstp red paprika
2 tsp (NOT tbsp) caraway seed
2 tsp (NOT tbsp) coriander seed
1 or 2 tsp (NOT tbsp) cumin seed (technically you should dry roast this then grind it)
HALF tsp salt (or a good grind of nice salt – do not overdo it)
A good grind of black pepper
A handful of leaves of fresh mint (theoretically spearmint, but any other mint will do, I used lemon mint)

Soak the chilli flakes in boiling water. Drain AND KEEP the water (to use for thinning the paste if required)

Put the flakes and everything else in the blender and blend like the hammers of hell for several minutes, thinning as necessary with equal quantities of extra virgin (ie not from Knockholt) olive oil (or trendy modern seed oil of choice). Contemplate on the vicissitudes of life of the poor Moroccans who had to do that by hand.

Taste with great care. If much too fiery, try adding a little lemon or lime (supermarket juice like Jif will do but fresh and with the rind is nicer).

Put in jar in fridge. A thin layer of olive oil will help it keep.

Simples!


Harissa 2 (makes about two pound jamjarful)
9 oz of fresh chilis. I used about half a doz of the long ones for flavour, one Scotch bonnet 'cos it was all I had, and the rest frozen bird-eyes, so if you use 9 oz of fresh bonnets or 9 oz of fresh bird-eyes it will be hotter still.
2 tbsp honey, clear and runny if possible
A small grind of sea salt or more to taste
3 heaped tsp (not tbsp) carraway seeds (should be ground but if you blend hard enough who cares?)
3 heaped tsp (not tbsp) cumin seeds
Another tsp BLACK cumin seeds if you can get them
A bulb of garlic
4 oz of fresh piquillo peppers (whatever they are if you can get them) or bell peppers (preferably red, and you can roast and peel them if you like)
2 tsp tomato puree
2 tsp (NOT tbsp) red wine vinegar
4 tsp (NOT tbsp) extra virgin (ie not from Knockholt) olive oil (or trendy modern seed oil of choice)
About 2 tbstp red paprika
Half tbsp of the kernels from cardamom seeds. Shelling the cardomoms is boring.


Put everything in the blender and blend like the hammers of hell for several minutes. Thinning should not be needed. Contemplate on the vicissitudes of life of the poor Moroccans who had to do that by hand.

Taste with great care. If much too fiery, try adding a little lemon or lime (supermarket juice like Jif will do but fresh and with the rind is nicer).

Put in jar in fridge. A thin layer of olive oil will help it keep.



Lamb Tagine (you can scale down the dosage as necessary)
200g of dried apricots (fresh or tinned will do but then you don't need to soak them)
1 ½ to 2 kg of lamb. Most recipes say boned shoulder and that is what I used at Knockers, but I suspect that breast would be very good for the fat to absorb the spices – and cheaper too. You can use chicken or even vegetables in stead but then you will need another source of fats to absorb the spices. Diced turkey is cheap in supermarkets sometimes.
A big onion or two smaller. Red ones might be nice but I haven't tried them. Spanish are probably too mild.
A bulb of garlic (notice the cavalier attitude to garlic, here. Be careful if you are on the pull)
2 tsp (NOT tbsp) coriander seed OR 1 or 2 tbsp coriander leaves
1 or 2 tsp (NOT tbsp) cumin seed
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
400 g or more of tomatoes
4 tbsp extra virgin (ie not from Knockholt) olive oil (or trendy modern seed oil of choice)
500g or more of carrots (chunked)
500g or more courgettes (chunked)
3cm of root ginger
A lemon (or lime)
As much saffron as you can afford (Linda had a lump the size of a golfball that she got cheap in Morocco so we used all of that)
20 black olives (pitted, WITHOUT the brine they came in!)
Tbsp ground almonds if you fancy them: I don't
A large tablespoon of harissa or more to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Flour to thicken


Fry the meat in the oil until sealed
Fry the onions in the oil until translucent (add more oil if you like)
Put in tagine. If you have not got a tagine a thick-bottomed cast iron pot or a Dutch oven or a casserole will do but you may need to be wary ofcooking on open fire!
Grate the ginger into the tagine.
Slice the lemon into circles, and segment – about 8 to a slice. They will make little sour bombs as you eat!
Fold the ginger and lemon into the contents of the tagine.
Add water so that it nearly covers.
Bring to boil and simmer GENTLY for an hour or more (on fire, in oven or in chimnea or on BBQ – but GENTLY. It doesn't matter if it goes off the boil so long as it does not cool below about 80 degrees centigrade.
Take off some liquid, make a flour paste, fry, adding a little liquid to make a roux, and return to the pot to thicken. Or just dump some flour in if you prefer, or you could add some cornflour to cool water and add so it thicken s of its own accord as it heats. If you want to be really ethnic you could use chickpeas – but BEWARE you don't want it so thick it sticks to the bottom of the pan.
Add everything else except for the courgettes and olives (well, you want the courgettes with some texture and the olives in one piece, don't you?)
Simmer gently for half to three quarters of an hour
Add the courgettes and olives.   Get going on your rice or cous-cous at this point too.
Simmer for about another 15 minutes, thickening and adding salt and pepper to taste


Serve over rice or cous-cous – or fancy bread if you prefer but I hate Morroccan and Eritrean breads.