Fermented Harissa
Harissa fermentata
A lactic chilli-and-red-pepper paste with garlic, toasted warm spices and olive oil added after fermentation.
A lactic chilli-and-red-pepper paste with garlic, toasted warm spices and olive oil added after fermentation.
About 1 kg finished paste
Ingredients
Ferment
- Red peppers, roughly chopped800 g
- Red chillies, roughly chopped500 g
- Garlic120 g
- Fine non-iodised sea salt, about 2.5% of the vegetable weight35 g
To finish
- Coriander seeds20 g
- Cumin seeds15 g
- Caraway seeds10 g
- Smoked paprika15 g
- Olive oil150 ml
Method
Combine the chopped peppers, chillies and garlic with the salt and mix thoroughly.
Pack firmly into a sanitised fermentation vessel, pressing the vegetables down so liquid rises around them. Keep the solids submerged under their own brine.
Ferment at 18-22°C. Start tasting and checking pH from day 4 onward rather than relying on a fixed ten-day clock.
Once the flavour is clean, lactic and pleasantly sour and the pH is below 4.6, refrigerate the ferment.
Toast the coriander, cumin and caraway separately until fragrant, then cool.
Blend the fermented vegetables with the toasted spices and smoked paprika.
Slowly emulsify in the olive oil, then transfer to clean refrigerated containers.
Chef’s notes
- The source used a fixed 10-day fermentation. The safer control is flavour plus measured acidity; do not call the ferment finished by calendar alone.
- The source gave a six-month refrigerated shelf life. Without a validated commercial process, keep refrigerated and use within about 4 weeks, or freeze in small portions for longer storage.
- Use clean utensils and discard any batch with mould or an abnormal odour.
Last refined · September 2026