Harissa that you buy in a jar or tube will never taste as good as harissa that you make. There are many different styles of harissa just like there are different styles of salsa. I make really good harissa so today I thought that apricot harissa would be great on roasted carrots and it is. I made the harissa first before I made the carrots. I made way more harissa than I used but can use it later on something else. You will have maybe double the amount of harissa than you need for the recipe. Ingredients are for around 4 servings plus extra apricot harissa. I do note that the harissa will thicken as it chills.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

4 oz dried soft apricots – chopped (harissa)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (harissa)

1 teaspoon caraway seeds (harissa)

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (harissa)

3 garlic cloves – ground to paste (harissa)

1-2 hot red peppers – fine chopped (harissa)

1/2 lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice (harissa)

1 Tablespoon white vinegar (harissa)

1 Tablespoon tomato paste (harissa)

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (harissa)

1 lb carrots – peel if not organic – cut in any shape you like but cooking time will differ

4 Tablespoons apricot harissa (that you just made)

2 Tablespoons butter – melted

2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

2 oz feta cheese – crumbled or cubed

1 oz pistachios – crushed

2 Tablespoons parley leaves – chopped

optional a sprinkle of Urfa Pepper for finishing

Directions

Make the apricot harissa. Blend together the apricots, cumin, caraway, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, garlic, hot peppers, lemon juice, vinegar, tomato paste and black pepper.

Set oven to 450 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine 4 Tablespoons of the apricot harissa, butter, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, cumin seeds, salt, and Aleppo pepper. Mix well and now toss the carrot in and mix well. This gets spread out on a baking sheet. Timing will differ because the size of your carrots will be different from mine. Your carrots will probably take between 15-30 minutes. My carrots were very large and I put mine in for 15 minutes and they were still a little hard so I then covered the pan after 15 minutes and mine needed another 15 minutes. Yours might need less unless you Got big old carrots like mine.

In a small bowl mix together the feta, pistachios and parsley.

Pull them out when the carrots are fork tender. Top them with the feta mixture. If you have Urfa Pepper top them with a little bit of that too.

Enjoy!