Black Olives With Harissa Food

MOROCCAN OLIVES WITH HARISSA RECIPE

Steps:

• Soak the olives in a bowl of water for a few hours or overnight; drain. (Or, if the olives are hard, soften them by soaking in boiling water for 15 minutes.) For better infusion of the marinade, make one or two small incisions in each olive (or gently crush them to crack the flesh of the olive).
• While the olives are soaking, make the harissa if it's not already prepared: Remove the seeds from the chile peppers then soak in hot water for a half hour or until tender enough to mash. Drain. Lightly toast the seeds in a skillet (just until fragrant) and grind them with a mortar and pestle. Add the softened chile peppers, garlic, salt, lemon juice and olive oil to the mortar and grind to a paste. Thin as desired with additional lemon juice and olive oil. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator until needed.
• Seed the preserved lemon and cut it into thin strips.
• Combine the preserved lemon with the drained olives, parsley. lemon juice and as much harissa as desired.
• If you like, a little additional olive oil or garlic can be mixed in to the olives.
• Cover and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours (overnight is best) before serving. The olives will keep in the fridge for several weeks. Leftover harissa may be stored in the fridge as well for use as a condiment with other foods.

HARISSA-BAKED EGGS WITH FETA, MINT, AND BLACK OLIVES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• 2. Rub four ramekins with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the olive oil. Crack 1 egg into each dish. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
• 3. In a medium skillet over medium heat, add another 1 1/2 teaspoons of the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic, black olives, and mint (save a little of the mint for garnish). Stir just until you smell the garlic but do not brown it. Add the harissa, tomatoes, and chicken stock. Cook for 2 minutes at just below a simmer.
• 4. Spoon the mixture evenly over the eggs. It is very important that you pour the sauce over the eggs right away while it is still hot, so that the egg whites cook before the yolks get hard. Scatter the feta evenly over the top. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and tent with foil (this will prevent the yolks from overcooking) and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked to your desired doneness. Remember, the eggs will continue to cook slightly due to the residual heat after they are removed from the oven.
• 5. While the eggs are baking, make sure the garbanzo beans are dry. Roughly chop.
• 6. In a separate medium nonstick pan over medium-high heat, add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the garbanzo beans. Fry until golden and crispy, about 4 minutes. Turn off the heat. Stir in the cumin seed and a pinch of salt. Transfer to a plate to cool.
• 7. Remove the ramekins from the oven and place each one on a plate lined with a damp napkin to prevent it from slipping. Divide the garbanzos over the top and garnish with a touch of the reserved sliced mint.

BLACK OLIVES WITH HARISSA

Steps:

• In a colander rinse olives under cold water 1 minute and in a large bowl cover with cold water. Soak olives 4 hours to remove excess salt and drain well.
• Make harissa: In a mortar with a pestle, an electric spice grinder, or a cleaned coffee grinder grind seeds fine. If using mortar and pestle, add chilies, garlic, and salt and pound to taste. If using a spice or coffee grinder, transfer seeds to a small food processor and add chilies, garlic, and salt. Grind mixture to a paste. Add pepper and oil and pound or purée to a coarse paste.
• In a large bowl stir together harissa and olives and marinate, covered and chilled, at least 6 hours or overnight. Olives may be prepared 1 week ahead and kept chilled, covered.
• Serve olives at room temperature.
• To roast peppers:
• Using a long-handled fork, char peppers over an open flame or on a rack set over an electric burner, turning, until skins are blackened, 4 to 6 minutes. (Or to broil peppers on rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 2 inches from heat, turning every 5 minutes, 15 to 20 minutes, or until skins are blistered and charred.) Transfer peppers to a bowl and let stand, covered, until cool enough to handle. Keeping peppers whole, peel them, starting at blossom end. Cut off pepper tops and discard seeds and ribs.

FISH FILLETS WITH HARISSA AND BLACK OLIVES (TUNISIA)

Steps:

• Season fish with salt and pepper.
• Dust with flour and fry in hot olive oil until golden brown on all sides.
• Transfer fish to a side dish. Add onion and garlic to the skillet and cook for a few minutes.
• Add tomato sauce, harissa, bay leaf and 1/2 cup water. Cook for 10 minutes.
• Add olives and fish fillets and continue cooking, uncovered, until the fish is tender and the sauce thick.
• Add lemon juice to taste. Discard the bay leaf.
• Serve, sprinkled with parsley.

BEEF WITH BLACK OLIVES PIE

Steps:

• First make the filling. Heat the oil in a large casserole on a high heat. Coat the meat in the seasoned flour and fry until browned all over. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.
• Reduce the heat and add the butter to the pan. Stir in the onions and gently stew for 10 minutes or until translucent. Keep checking and stirring to make sure the onions do not burn.
• Throw in the garlic, parsley and spices, and stir for a couple of minutes. Return the meat to the pan, then pour in the tomatoes, olives and water.
• Stir through the tomato paste.
• Mash up the tomatoes a bit with your spoon and scrape the bottom of the pan to keep it from sticking. Gently simmer for 2 hours - keep checking to make sure it does not burn or stick to the bottom of the pan and give it.
• a gentle stir; add some more water if it starts to dry out.
• While it is simmering, prepare the pastry. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
• Rub in the butter between your thumb and fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs. Add the milk a little at a time and combine until you.
• have a soft dough.
• Depending on the type of flour you are using, you may need a little more or less milk than suggested. Roll the dough into a ball, cover it in cling film and pop it in the fridge until needed.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F Once the filling has finished simmering and is an aromatic tender stew, with a nice thick rich sauce, remove the cinnamon stick.
• Taste the filling and season it with salt and pepper accordingly. Pour the mixture into a medium pie dish.
• Roll out the pastry to make a lid for the dish. Brush the edges of the dish with water so the lid will stick.
• Cover the dish, press down the edges and trim. Cut a small hole in the top to let the steam escape, and bake the pie for 20 minutes.
• I like to serve with boiled sweet potatoes, tossed in butter and chopped fresh parsley.