Have you heard of Harissa before? I hadn’t discovered it in the kitchen until last week and WOW does it pack a spicy and flavorful kick! J and I are temporarily living with my family for now until we get our own place in the city and it’s been awesome discovering tons of delicious spices, hot sauces and kitchen thangs with my Stepmom who deserves her own cooking blog herself! She’s originally from Turkey and it’s been wonderful cooking with her and discovering a new world of delicious spices that I would not typically use at home. Starting with this delicious Harissa paste starring in this incredibly tasty Roasted Garlic & Harissa Hummus.
Harissa is basically a blend of chili peppers, spices (like cumin and coriander) with olive oil and it is SO incredibly flavorful. If you’ve followed Ceara’s Kitchen for awhile now you might have noticed that I LOVE hot sauce and spicy food. The spicier the better in my kitchen. I do know however that not everyone shares my tastes so I consciously tame my food down when I’m not just cooking for J and I (or sharing recipes with you guys, ha).
This Roasted Garlic & Harissa Hummus packs a bit of a kick from the harissa but you can also control the heat by adding in the harissa bit by bit until you reach your desired spice limit. The roasted garlic, cumin. lemon juice and tahini take the flavors of this Harissa hummus to a entirely new level. Roasting is always better.
And like every hummus recipe, This Roasted Garlic & Harissa Hummus is super simple to whip up.
Process all your ingredients together until you get gorgeous, golden Roasted Garlic & Harissa Hummus…
YUM! This Roasted Garlic & Harissa Hummus seriously tastes divine served as an appy, snack (*or at any meal) with carrots, pita, cherry tomatoes, crackers…… the possibilities are endless! I also love slathering it on a wrap for lunch with some crunchy lettuce and extra harissa if you are feeling spicy. 🙂
If you do make this Roasted Garlic & Harissa Hummus at home, share your feedback with me by writing your thoughts in the comments below, tagging me (#cearaskitchen) in your beautiful shots on Instagram or sharing your photo on my Ceara’s Kitchen Facebook page. <3 #EatHappyLiveHappy
- 5 cloves roasted garlic*
- 4-5 tsp harissa*
- 1½-2 tsp sea salt
- 2-4 tsp ground cumin*
- ¼ cup olive oil or chickpea liquid*
- ⅓ - ½ cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed)*
- 1 cup tahini
- 4 cups chickpeas
- To roast garlic, preheat oven to 425F/220C. Cut the head off of the garlic and drizzle with a bit of olive oil (if using). Roast in the oven for 30 - 35 minutes until soft, slightly brown on the outside and fragrant.
- In the food processor, blend together 2 tsp harissa, 1½ sea salt, 2 tsp ground cumin, olive oil (or chickpea liquid), ⅓ cup lemon juice, tahini and 5 cloves of the roasted garlic until creamy.
- Add the chickpeas to the food processor and process until creamy.
- Taste the hummus. Add additional harissa, sea salt, cumin and lemon juice to taste. I like this recipe with the entire amount of each ingredient but I know that some people are sensitive to harissa, sea salt etc. Adjust each ingredient to your own taste.
- Serve hummus fresh with crackers, vegetable and pita. This hummus also makes a delicious sandwich spread. Store in the fridge for up to 4-5 days in a sealed container.
2) Adjust cumin to taste.
3) Adjust harissa based on how spicy you like your hummus.
4) Use chickpeas liquid (the water from the chickpea can) for an oil-free version on this recipe. To make this recipe completely oil-free, experiment with making homemade oil-free harissa paste (I haven't been able to find a store-bough oil-free version) OR add in equal parts of the harissa spices (tomato/red pepper paste, coriander powder, coriander seeds, cumin and chili peppers).
5) Adjust sea salt to taste.
6) Adjust lemon juice to taste.
14 comments
Thank you for this. Was looking for a good use for rise Harissa on google and this seemed ideal.
Josh – United Kingdom
I used Peri Peri spice (totally oil free) as a replacement for the harissa and it worked atreat!
This looks delicious! I’ve never tried harissa inside a hummus before, but it sounds so great. I love harissa and have been trying to make more dishes that use it! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you! The harissa really gives this hummus a nice kick.
Can the garlic be roasted without olive oil? And is it okay to roast without wrapping it in foil?
I really want to pin this, but it says “nothing pinnable on this page” when I click on the pin icons. Yikes. :o(
This hummus looks so sophisticated and tasty! I have never tried harissa, but my spice tolerance is pretty low, so that’s not really surprising 😀 haha I would have to go with a very small bit, but it sounds so flavor-packed, perfect for hummus!
<3 Thank you, Natalie! I tame this down a bit too when serving this to family or friends! :D
looks yum!
Thank you! <3
This looks so delicious, Ceara! 🙂 I’ve used Harissa before but not for hummus. I really gotta try this!
How can this be oil free when harissa has oil in it ?
My thought as well, Bev. I don’t eat oil so I’m curious if there is an oil-free version of the harissa (dried maybe?) or substitute that doesn’t contain oil. Or maybe you can give us the measurements for the spices that make up the harissa. Thanks!
Hi Bev and Nadine, you are both right! I didn’t think about the oil in the harissa. To make this completely oil free you could experiment and make a homemade oil-free harissa or add in equal parts of the harissa spices (tomato/red pepper paste, coriander powder, coriander seeds, cumin and chili peppers). Would love to know your results if you end up trying it out 🙂