Rose Harissa Hummus, Pomegranate Molasses + Oven-Roasted Aleppo Sweet Potato Fries
Last summer, I was basking in the Middle Eastern sun on a beach in Beirut, Lebanon, dipping my mid-day snack of crispy fries into hummus. I’m trying for the life of me to replicate that feeling of pure bliss in my apartment during this 2-week long monsoon weather streak New York has going on.
Say what you will about hummus with pita and fries with ketchup, but there is absolutely no better dip for fries than hummus or vehicle for hummus than fries. I stand by this.
I was inspired to make this particular kind of hummus after trying Collected Foods Rose Harissa Spice Blend. I made a fresh harissa paste to blend into the hummus, but you can always double or triple the amount of harissa spice blend used in the recipe and omit the paste. Any harissa paste or spice blend will work if you can’t get your hands on Collected Food’s version, though I really love this blend — it packs an amazing, authentic and fresh flavor, especially for a dry spice!
The sweet and sour pomegranate molasses is imperative to this hummus. The end result is a crispy spicy-naturally sweet sweet potato fry dipped in a smoky, spicy, tangy, and slightly fruity dip. The molasses complements and brings out the subtle rose flavor, as well. You can buy pomegranate molasses storebought, but it’s so easy and usually cheaper to make it from scratch.
As soon as these April showers settle down and it finally gets warmer out, you will find me on some sort of sand, grass, or rooftop situation (though probably and unfortunately not in Beirut) eating fries dipped into hummus.
Rose Harissa Hummus, Pomegranate Molasses + Oven-Roasted Aleppo Sweet Potato Fries
Yields 2 cups hummus + as many fries as potatoes you cook + extra harissa paste
Prep Time: 45 minutes | Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
Rose Harissa Hummus
For the harissa paste:
1/2 tsp. caraway seeds
6 cloves
1 tsp. each cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and black peppercorns
1.5 tsp. ground paprika
2 tsp. salt
1 red bell pepper
2 dried guajillo peppers or New Mexico peppers
6 dried arbol peppers
3 tbs. olive oil
2 garlic cloves
3 tbs. tomato paste
1 tbs. distilled white vinegar (can sub for 1 more tablespoon balsamic vinegar)
1 tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup tahini
1.5 lemons, juiced
2 garlic cloves
In a skillet, dry toast all the whole spices (everything except salt and paprika) until fragrant. Grind to a medium course grind in a spice grinder, dry blender, or mortar/pestle. Set aside.
Start by roasting the red pepper. If you have a gas stove, place the pepper directly on the lit burner and rotate to completely char each side until the pepper is nearly all black. If you don’t have a gas stove, place the pepper under the broiler in the oven on the highest rack you can without the pepper touching the top of the oven. Rotate once charred on each side until it is nearly all black. Immediately place in an airtight container, ziplock bag, or bowl tightly wrapped with plastic to trap in the steam and let it sweat and cool. Once room temperature, rub the charred skin off to reveal the pepper flesh. Rough chop and set aside.
While the pepper is sweating/cooling, cut the dried peppers open to release majority of the seeds. Bring a pot of water with the dried peppers in it to a boil, let it boil for a few minutes and then turn the heat off, allowing the peppers to soak and rehydrate/soften. Remove from water, rough chop and set aside.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the oil. Add in the bell peppers, rehydrated peppers, garlic cloves, and tomato paste. Stir to darken the tomato paste and add color to the garlic cloves. Once the mixture seems to be drying up, add the vinegar. Add in the salt, paprika, and dry spices.
Either blend all together to form a paste or mash with the mortar/pestle to create a chunkier paste. Store in an airtight container in a refrigerator until ready to use. Use within 1 week.
In a high-powered food processor, blend the chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, raw garlic cloves, and 1/3 cup of the harissa paste together until smooth, adding cold water a little at a time until you get a completely smooth/creamy consistency. Adjust seasoning with/salt/pepper/more Rose Harissa spice mix as needed. This should be creamy, spicy, salty, garlic-y, and earthy. The pomegranate molasses will add more sweetness and a tangy, fruity component that will balance out all the spice/salt. Top with a generous drizzle of pomegranate molasses (recipe below), garnish with fresh oregano and/or sorrel. Serve with Oven-Roasted Aleppo Sweet Potato Fries (recipe below)
Oven Roasted Aleppo Sweet Potato Fries
Sweet potatoes, scrubbed with skin on or peeled, I recommend 1/2-1 potato per serving.
Olive oil
Salt/black pepper
1 tbs. corn starch per potato
Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Cut 2 sides of the potato so you have 2 flat sides. Set the potato on 1 flat side and cut it into 1/2 inch thick planks. Cut the planks into 1/2 inch wide sticks to make your fries. Soak the fries in cold water for 20 minutes. Rinse/drain the fries with cold wateer 3 times or until the water it soaks in is clear. Spread on a towel and let dry completely. Toss the fries with oil, salt, pepper, corn starch, and aleppo flakes to coat evenly. Spread evenly on a parchment-lined sheet tray.
Roast for 15 minutes, toss with a spatula and roast another 10-15 until crispy.
Pomegranate Molasses
3 cups pomegranate juice
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 lemon, juiced
Add all ingredients to a pot and simmer until it has reduced into a thick syrup consistency like maple syrup. Remove from heat and let cool. It will continue to thicken into a molasses consistency as it cools. Refrigerate and use within a week.
