North African Spiced Harissa With Grilled Pita(libya)

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 5 dried ancho chiles
• 5 dried guajillo chilies
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• water (to help thin out)
• squeeze lemon
• salt and pepper
• pita bread, slices grilled

Recipe

• 1 place both chilies in a large bowl. add hot water to bowl and let the chilies re-hydrated for at least an hour at room temperature. meanwhile, toast cumin and coriander seeds in a small skillet over medium heat for a minute or until fragrant. once toasted, grind these seeds in a grinder until powder-like. set aside.
• 2 once the chilies have set for at least an hour, drain, pat dry, cut the stems off, and remove seeds. place chilies in a food processor. pulse a few times. add garlic clove and pulse again. you might need to add a little water to help thin it out. at this point you can either push the puree through a fine mesh sieve or if you like a thicker puree leave as is. add the cumin, corriander, olive oil, and orange juice to the chilies. pulse again until smooth. add a squeeze of lemon and salt/pepper to taste. serve with grilled pita.