Eggplant and Harissa Sandwich

Hi guys, I’m back…for good this time. I hope…. I have to be honest with you…I was away because I had the blues…. There was nothing wrong with my life and still I felt pretty crappy. I don’t want to complain or put sad violin songs in the background. It was something physical, hormonal… yes being a woman has its downfalls…it’s not always fabulousness. But Now I took care of it and hopefully I’ll be okay. So I got my groove back and things are shiny again. I missed all of you a lot…really…A LOT. Some of you were really a darling and made me feel so good, I am really thankful for all of you. That’s the best part of blogging really. To meet those great women out there. Now let’s talk a bit about food, Oh…. I missed that…to blab endlessly about food. My hubby love harissa, he wants to spread harissa in almost everything. I only discover the goodness in using it because of him. But now I can’t be without it. And it’s not that easy to find. Usually you find Harissa paste, so I decide to take control and do my own. And wow…. what a difference, in this recipe the Harissa is chunky, garlicky, spicy it’s delicious. So flavorful I could eat it alone. You have to try it, trust me on that. The Sandwich was so amazing I was speechless. My head was spinning thinking of all the sandwich possibilities I could do with it, artichoke, chicken and if you don’t like goat cheese you can use ricotta or cream cheese, some mild cheese to balance the heat.

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Homemade Harissa

• 10 fresh red finger length chilies
• 3 red bell peppers roasted
• 1½ tsp coriander seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp caraway seeds
• 5 to 6 garlic cloves minced
• ½ tsp flaked sea salt
• 2 tsp tomato puree
• 2½ tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp light olive oil

Direction:

Place a fry pan over a medium heat. Char the chilies; turning them every few minutes until blackened all over (about 10 min). When it’s done transfer the chilies to a medium bowl and cover with film plastic to create steam, allow the chilies to sit for 5 to 10 minutes. The charred skin will loosen as the chilies cool. In a small fry pan, gently toast the coriander, cumin and caraway seeds for about 2 minutes, until fragrant. Peel away the skins from the chilies take half of the seeds off and Coarsely chop. Grind the seeds with a pestle and mortar to a fine powder. In another pestle and mortar pound the chilies, garlic, seeds and sea salt, making a fine paste. In the food processor pulse the roasted peppers, tomato puree, olive oil and the lemon juice. Now mix this with the chilies paste and allow the flavors to combine for at least one hour before use.

Eggplant and Harissa Sandwich

• Crusty bread (Ciabatta or focaccia)
• Goat cheese
• Grilled eggplant

Directions:

Cut the eggplant in 1 inch Slices, put then in a big bowl filled with salt and water for few minutes. Then drain the water and pat dry the eggplant. Brush the slices with olive oil and grill it until soft. Set aside to cool down a little. Put the bread in the oven getting it to crisp a bit. Spread the goat cheese on bread then spreads the Harissa arrange the eggplants on top of it and enjoy. Serve it with some mixed olives.