• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Kitchen and Other Stories
  • Breakfast Recipes
  • Main Course Recipes
  • Soup Recipes
  • Healthy Salad Recipes
  • Side Dishes & Snacks
  • Dessert & Drink Recipes
  • Kitchen Skills & Hacks
  • Foraging & Sustainable Living
  • About
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Breakfast Recipes
  • Main Course Recipes
  • Side Dishes & Snacks
  • Dessert & Drink Recipes
  • Healthy Salad Recipes
  • Soup Recipes
  • Foraging & Sustainable Living
  • Kitchen Skills & Hacks
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • 11 Wild Garlic and Other Foraged Wild Greens Recipes
    • A jam jar containing wild garlic capers in pickling liquor.
      How To Make Wild Garlic Capers
    • Pumpkin dip garnished with pumpkin seeds in a small black dish.
      How To Make Pumpkin Dip With Crown Prince Pumpkin
    • Seven spiced pea tartlets.
      Vegan Canape: Spiced Pea Tartlets
    • Close-up of five mini brioche buns.
      How To Make Vegan Brioche Buns
    • Close up of three mini beetroot burgers in mini brioche buns.
      How To Make Mini Beetroot Burgers
    • A rustic brown plate containing a bed of green lentils, roasted pumpkin wedges, and a yoghurt and parsley garnish.
      Roasted Crown Prince Pumpkin and Green Lentils
    • A serving bowl containing winter vegetable soup garnished with vegan yoghurt and a sprig of parsley.
      Winter Vegetable Soup. Warming and Nourishing.
    • A serving bowl containing Cannellini bean soup with cavolo nero and a slice of cheese toast resting on the edge of the bowl.
      Cannellini Bean and Cavolo Nero Soup. Simple and Healthy
    • Beetroot and harissa stew in a shallow dish garnished with yoghurt and crispy chickpeas.
      Healing Beetroot Stew With Harissa.
    • A bowl containing celeriac soup with a preserved lemon and parsley salsa.
      Celeriac Soup With a Preserved Lemon & Parsley Salsa
    • A serving bowl containing haricot bean stew with cavalo nero, and a fried red onion garnish.
      Miso Stew With Haricot Beans and Cavolo Nero. Healthy and Nutritious.

    Home » Foraging & Sustainable Living

    Simple Homemade Harissa Recipe With Foraged Rose Petals

    Published: Sep 13, 2021 · Modified: Dec 26, 2022 by Chef Tripti · This post may contain affiliate links

    When nature gives you roses, make rose harissa! The rose plant offers so much when it comes to kitchen ingredients. Summertime roses are in full bloom. Not only are they beautiful to look at and nourish our hearts, but they can also nourish our bodies too. It's been on my mind to create a rose harissa recipe for a while. I hope you agree my efforts paid off!

    Harissa is a North African red chilli paste. Originally from Tunisia, like many traditional recipes, harissa will have variations, household to household. In Arabic, harissa means to crush or pound. Fortunately, we live in a modern world where we have the option not to pound by hand but use a blender! Although I do think it would taste better if we did pound it by hand, let's leave that for another time!

    From working with various chefs from North Africa and the Middle East down the years, this rose harissa recipe is inspired by what I learned from them. My variation is the addition of rose petals. It is easy to prepare at home.

    Jump to:
    • Roses: A Culinary Delight
    • How-To Video
    • 📖 Recipe
    • Rose Harissa Recipe Notes
    Three jars of rose harissa surrounded by rose petals
    Rosa Harissa

    Roses: A Culinary Delight

    All roses are edible. The petals and the fruit (known as rosehips) are potential ingredients in dishes. Ideally, in this harissa recipe, I would have liked to use the rosehips as an alternative to roasted tomatoes. However, rosehips come after the petals have fallen. So in this harissa recipe, I am using only the rose petals. The addition of rose petals to this fiery chilli paste takes off the heat a little bit and adds texture.

    I am surprised at how easy it is to make homemade harissa. Harissa is easily obtainable from the supermarket; however, there is always a certain satisfaction from making one's own and a reassurance from knowing what's in the finished product.

    For this recipe, I foraged the wild roses that grow along hedgerows, and the majority of the petals I gathered were pale pink. Consequently, my harissa is quite a pale colour. My wish was to find more vividly coloured rose rugosa, but I didn't see enough for my recipe. Maybe next year!

    Harissa has such a beautiful flavour and kick to it. I use it to flavour stews, soups, curries and even mayo. It makes a great sandwich spread as well.

    Why not give my gluten-free and vegan savoury tomato and rose harissa tart recipe a go?

    On a completely different note, I have used foraged wild roses to make rose water.

    How-To Video

    A video guide to making your rose harissa

    How To Make Rose Harissa

    📖 Recipe

    Close up of rose harissa on a teaspoon above two jars of rose harissa

    Homemade Harissa With Foraged Rose Petals

    Chef Tripti
    Inspired by the classic North African paste, this recipe uses foraged rose petals
    No ratings yet
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 30 minutes mins
    Cook Time 1 hour hr
    Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
    Course Breakfast, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
    Cuisine middle eastern
    Servings 600 gms

    Equipment

    • Digital scales
    • Jam Jars with lids

    Ingredients
      

    • 450 gms Plum Tomatoes
    • 25 gms Garlic unpeeled
    • 100 gms Rose Petals
    • 65 gms Kasmiri Chillies
    • 5 gms Cumin seeds
    • 10 gms Coriander seeds
    • 8 gms Castor Sugar
    • 20 gms Lemon juice
    • 10 gms Rose water
    • 40 gms Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 60 gms Olive oil
    • 20 gms Sea Salt

    Instructions
     

    • Pre heat the oven to 150ºC (fan assisted)
    • Halve the plum tomatoes and place them on a roasting tray along with the unpeeled garlic. Drizzle a little olive oil on top of the tomatoes and roast in the oven for an hour.
    • Wash the rose petals to insure there are no bugs, leaves or stems and pat dry. Set aside.
    • In a pan over a medium heat, roast the cumin and coriander seeds for a few minutes. You will know when they are done when you smell the fragrance of the spices. Once done, immediately transfer to a plate to cool.
    • In the same pan over a medium heat, roast the red chillies for a few minutes. You will know when they are done when the colour changes to a deeper red and a bit brownish (see the how-to video) Once ready, transfer immediately into a bowl. Pour boiling water over the chillies and cover to hydrate. Set aside for 10 minutes.
    • Grind the cumin and coriander.
    • Once the chillies are soft, put on some gloves and remove stems and cut into half or into three. Remove some or all of the seeds if you dont want the harissa to be too hot.
    • Wash the jam jars with hot soapy water and leave to drain.
    • Once the tomatoes are ready, turn the oven down to 100ºC. Sterlise the jam jars and lids for a minimum of half an hour.
    • In a blender or food processor add the chillies, tomatoes, peeled garlic, salt and sugar and blend to a rough paste.
    • Add the rose petals, 40 gms olive oil, lemon juice, rose water and apple cider vinegar and blend to a rough paste.
      Rose harissa paste on a spatula after mixing together.
    • Spoon into sterilised bottles, cover with a layer of olive oil and seal with the lid.
    Keyword chilli paste, Gluten free, homemade, vegan
    Tried this recipe?Please leave a review & rating
    Mention @kitchenandotherstories or tag #kitchenandotherstories!

    Rose Harissa Recipe Notes

    You can use rose petals from your garden; make sure you haven't sprayed them with chemicals. If foraging for wild roses, as with any foraged ingredients, be mindful of the environment from which you are picking. Roadside or adjacent to sprayed fields is not ideal.

    The chillies are pretty fiery, so feel free to remove the seeds as much as you want to tame the harissa. Ensure you wear gloves because the heat from the chilli can cause discomfort on the skin or if you rub your eyes!

    You can use any white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar.

    You can use pre-ground spices; however, it will change the flavour. If you use pre-ground spices, do roast them for a few minutes in a pan over medium heat to allow them to release their flavour. I always like to grind my spices from the seeds, fresh.

    Each time you use your harissa, be sure to use a clean, dry spoon to avoid contamination and the encouragement of mould growth. Also, make sure you cover the surface with olive oil before storing again. This one step ensures your harissa will remain mould free.

    You can store your harissa for up to three months. I have kept harissa in the fridge for longer than three months, although I don't recommend doing so.

    Glass jars are always better for storing preserves as they do not leach. I don't recommend plastic or Tupperware. My mother-in-law keeps me well supplied with old glass jam jars!

    Spread The Love. Thank You So Much!

    More Foraging and Sustainable Living

    • A shallow dish containing dried quince slices and a bottle of quince syrup.
      Dried Quince & Quince Syrup. A Delicious Sweet Treat From a Forgotten Fruit.
    • A small jar containing spiced apple chutney.
      Spiced Apple Chutney With Red Onion
    • a small yellow dish containing pickled plums. A jar containing pickled pickled plums in olive oil sits next to it.
      How To Cure And Pickle Green Plums Like Olives.
    • Close up of a shallow black dish containing sliced pickled walnuts.
      How To Make Pickled Green Walnuts

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Blog author behind lavender plant
    Chef Tripti

    Hi! Tripti here. I am a Michelin trained chef with over 20 years experience in the industry. My mission is to have you cooking fresh, nutritious food with simple recipes that deliver on creativity and taste. Food with heart and soul.

    More about me →

    Trending Recipes

    Popular recipes on Kitchen and Other Stories right now.

    • A small jar containing spiced apple chutney.
      Spiced Apple Chutney With Red Onion
    • Two bottles of natural laundry detergent made with conkers. One contains conkers in liquid, one contains strained liquid only.
      Make Your Own Free Natural Laundry Detergent From Conkers
    • Two jars of hawthorn berry homemade ketchup. 
      How To Make Hawthorn Berry Bloody Mary Ketchup
    • A plate of marrow guhtva garnished with coriander. 
      Fall In Love With Marrow. Ghutva Marrow Recipe

    Easy, Cheap One Pot Recipes

    Fresh, healthy meal ideas on a budget.

    • Bowl of butter-bean and baby spinach stew
      Easy One-Pot Butter Bean And Baby Spinach Stew
    • Ghugni garnished with herbs in a shallow dish
      How To Make Ghugni: One Pot Spiced Mushy White Peas
    • shallow dish containing aubergine Daal garnished with garlic and curry leaf tadka
      Simple One-Pot Aubergine Daal Recipe
    • Dalia upma, healthy breakfast, in two shallow bowls.
      Dalia Upma: Healthy Breakfast In a Hurry.

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Legal

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimers
    • Terms of use
    • Cookie Policy

    Connect

    • TikTok
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram

    Contact

    • Contact / Work With Me

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

    Copyright © 2022 Kitchen And Other Stories

    Foodie Pro theme from Feast Design Co. Built on Genesis Framework. Powered by Wordpress