NutritionSortLoading...
Loading...

12 ounces (1 ½ cups) whole olives with pits, any kinds

2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, or cilantro

¼ to ½ tablespoons preserved lemon

2 teaspoons olive oil, or more as needed

Harissa, to taste

Select allAdd

SortLoading...
Loading...

Harissa

8 to 10 red chile peppers

3 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon coriander seeds

½ teaspoon caraway seeds

2 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice, or to taste

Olive oil, to taste, or as needed

Select allAdd

Make the harissa

1. While the olives are soaking, make the harissa if it's not already prepared.

2. Remove the seeds from the chile peppers then soak in hot water for a half hour or until tender enough to mash. Drain.

3. Lightly toast the seeds in a skillet (just until fragrant) and grind them with a mortar and pestle.

4. Add the softened chile peppers, garlic, salt, lemon juice and olive oil to the mortar and grind to a paste.

5. Thin as desired with additional lemon juice and olive oil.

6. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator until needed.

Make the olives

1. 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).

2. Seed the preserved lemon and cut it into thin strips.

3. Combine the preserved lemon with the drained olives, parsley. lemon juice and as much harissa as desired.

4. If you like, a little additional olive oil or garlic can be mixed in to the olives.

5. 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.