Harissa Roasted Carrots Recipe from Jill Nussinow

Visiting Chef Jill Nussinow recently spent a week at our cooking school and shared this delicious Harissa Roasted Carrots recipe.

For this recipe you could buy a pre-made blend of harissa spices, but where’s the fun in that?  By making your own you can control the heat level and freshness. I found Jill’s recipe below to be spot on for my palette. ¡Bueno Provecho!

This spice blend from Morocco has become quite popular over the past few years. I like to make my own so that it can be the “just right” heat level for me. You can also buy it in paste form and use that in this recipe.

Serves 4

Harissa Spice blend:

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

¼ teaspoon caraway seeds

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon chili powder

Pinch of cayenne, or more to taste

¼ to ½ teaspoon salt, optional

Toast the cumin, coriander and caraway in a dry skillet over medium heat until the cumin smells fragrant, about 2 minutes. Let cool. Combine the toasted spices and remaining ingredients in a spice grinder or blender and grind until powdered.

1 pound carrots (6 medium), peeled and sliced on the diagonal into 2-inch pieces and blanched for 1 minute in boiling water, drain well

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 to 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil, optional

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Sprinkle of salt

Mix 1 tablespoon of the harissa blend with the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and maple syrup in a medium to large bowl. Add the blanched carrots to the bowl and toss until the carrots are coated. Heat an oven to 425 degrees. Place the coated carrots on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Roasted in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until the carrots are cooked through. Sprinkle with salt and add freshly ground pepper, if desired.

In addition to the carrots, you can mix the harissa into hummus, add a bit to a dipping bowl of olive oil, or sprinkle it into soup.