A few weeks ago, a dear friend of mine who has one of those jobs that has her in a different country every few weeks, told me she had a gift for me and the package would be dropped off at my house one night. When the package was delivered, it was a pretty la bag of Harissa from Tunisia in a cooling bag. My screams and leaps in the air had the Mr wondering if I got jewelry in the bag (my weakness).
Harissa is a uniquely Tunisian condiment paste that usually contains different kinds of peppers, spices like garlic, caraway seeds, coriander seeds and some kind of oil for preservation. Every spice merchant and family has their version of Harissa that is made and sold and this means they have people loyal to them who choose to patronize them only. I have seen versions with more exotic ingredients like rose petals and version as basic as peppers and garlic only. While it is traditionally Tunisian. Harissa can now be found in other Northern African countries now.
I use Harissa in everything from jollof rice dishes to savoury mixed meat stews. However, my favorite way to use Harissa is as the base of a delicious marinade that can be used on any type of meat, seafood, poultry, vegetables and even on potatoes. The beauty of this marinade is that all ingredients go into a blender and any extra marinade can be stored in the freezer for weeks with constant power supply.
To make approximately 1 cup of marinade, you will need:
- 1/2 cup Harissa paste
- 2 cloves peeled garlic
- I red onion – rough chopped
- 1 yellow scotch bonnet pepper
- 1 dried bay leaf
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
Directions:
- Add all the ingredients into a blender and process till smooth. Taste and add salt if needed
- Coat raw food of your choice with the marinade and grill or bake till cooked.
I used this marinade to jazz up regular breakfast sausages as well as on chicken with simply delicious results.
Jerk marinade is a staple in the Carribean especially in Jamaica and ready-made versions can be found in specialty stores and African stores in the Western world. I have never seen ready made jerk marinade here in Lagos but when its so easy to make - i dont miss it at all.
I have come up with my own jerk marinade that is very very similar to the jamaican version - its based on a recipe i got from a very friendly lady at a resort in Jamaica many years ago.
This recipe will give you about 3 cups of marinade that can be used for meat of all kinds, poultry and seafood and can keep in the freezer for up to 2 months with constant power supply.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 5 cloves of garlic (use more or less to suit your palate)
- 1/2 cup orange juice (i have also used mixed citrus juice in some instances)
- 1 large red onion or 2 small red onions
- 6 spring onions - including green parts
- 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1/3 cup soy sauce (dark works best)
- 5 scotch bonnet peppers (atarodo) - this makes marinade heat medium. Add more or less to suit your palate
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons allspice
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (light or dark works fine)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (i use freshly ground)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
1. Roughly chop onions, spring onions and scotch bonnet peppers and place in food processor or blender.
2. Add all other ingredients and blend till smooth.
3. Eyeball quantity of marinade to use based on amount of protein to be cooked. I suggest starting in half cup increments.
4. Place protein in marinade ensuring full coverage and leave to marinade for at least 2 hours before cooking. For best results, marinade overnight in refridgerator. Flavours get more intense the longer marinade is left on protein
5. When ready to cook - preheat oven to 350 degrees or gas mark 4. Transfer marinaded protein to an ovenproof baking dish and bake till done.
*I suggest setting aside between 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup of marinade for baking process. Turn protein every 10 - 15 mins and baste with marinade till done.
This is such an easy delicious recipe perfect for home cooking but also for potluck when you need tons of protein to take to an event.
Enjoy!
