MOROCCAN CHILLI CUMIN SAUCE

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This hot chilli sauce (harissa) is brilliantly useful. It’s North African in origin, but if you have some in the fridge it’ll find its way onto everything from pasta to a cheese sandwich. The cumin really underpins all the other flavours giving it an earthy, heady intensity.

MAKES 350G (12OZ)

PREP & COOK: 30 MINS

2 red peppers, chargrilled and peeled

4 tomatoes

olive oil

5 garlic cloves

20 mild red chillies, split in half and seeds removed

2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted

1 tsp caraway seeds

2 tsp sweet mild paprika

3 tbsp sherry vinegar

sea salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.

Roast the peppers with two of the tomatoes, a little olive oil and a good pinch of salt for 20 minutes, until soft.

Crush the garlic in a pestle and mortar with a little salt, then put into a blender with the chillies, the 2 raw tomatoes, the roasted pepper and roasted tomatoes and the spices. Pulse until you get a medium-fine texture, being careful not to overblend, it shouldn’t be smooth. Stir in the sherry vinegar and enough olive oil to loosen the whole mixture and give the consistency of a thick, rich sauce.