If you haven’t tried Moroccan Harissa before, listen up. It’s a lovely pepper sauce blend made with chili peppers, bell peppers, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, salt. That’s it. And it’s totally delicious.
Harissa is a staple of Tunisian and Moroccan cuisine, and it is the central condiment in kitchens in North Africa used as a spread, a dip or drizzled on top of nearly any dish. Versatile as it is, you can pair it with lamb or pork, fish, chicken or beef as a marinade or base for a Moroccan tagine dish. Drizzle some over couscous and grilled vegetables, or use it as a dressing for potatoes or dip some grilled flatbread or pita in it.
I first tried Mina Harissa Pepper Sauce last year when I met owner and creator Mina from Casablanca Foods at the Just Food Conference, and fell in love. They were giving away samples of their red pepper Harissa sauce that came in three different styles (Mild, Medium and Spicy). It had just the right amount of heat, and tons of flavor from the chilies, bell peppers and garlic.
They now have a new flavor made with green chilies and green peppers that is equally delicious with a medium spicy heat and tangy flavor. I was lucky enough to sample some of this new green goodness sauce and created a tasty, fun recipe to go with it – Spiced Moroccan Burgers with Green Harissa, Feta and Mint over Grilled Pita. The burgers are mildly spiced with cumin, ancho chile, onion, garlic and mint, then served over grilled pita and topped with the green harissa sauce, crumbly fresh feta, chopped fresh mint and sun dried tomatoes. They’re super easy to make, and super flavorful with the delicious blend of spices, fresh herbs and ingredients. Enjoy!
Learn more about Mina Harissa
Shop for Mina Harissa products online at Abe’s Market or Amazon.com
Ingredients
- SPICED MOROCCAN BURGERS
- 1 pound ground beef or lamb
- 3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup mint, chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ancho chile powder
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons garlic herb infused oil, for basting
- 1/2 cup Mina Harissa Green Harissa Pepper Sauce
- 2-4 sun dried tomatoes, for garnish
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, for garnish
- 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped for garnish
- Dash of smoked paprika, for garnish
- GRILLED PITA BREAD
- 2-4 pieces of pita or flatbread
- 1-2 tablespoon garlic herb infused oil
- Sea Salt, for garnish
- Smoked paprika, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat a grill pan over medium high heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef or lamb with the next 8 ingredients (through minced garlic).
- Gently knead the meat mixture together until ingredients are combined, and make 4-6 burger patties in the shape of an oval, brush burger patties with herb infused oil and set aside.
- To make the grilled pita bread: drizzle a tablespoon of herb infused oil on to both sides of the pitas and grill for a few minutes on each side until lightly browned and grill marks appear. Cook each pita separately (depending on the size of your grill pan).
- Remove pita from pan and sprinkle with sea salt and smoked paprika, cover with foil to keep warm while burgers are cooking.
- Add the burger patties to the heated grill pan, and cook approximately 4 minutes on each side (for medium) until grill marks appear and they are cooked according to your liking.
- To serve, place a piece of pita bread on each plate (either whole or broken into two pieces) and place burgers on top of the pita (or in the pita if you prefer).
- Top burgers with sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese, green harissa sauce, fresh chopped mint, a dash of smoked paprika, additional salt and pepper if desired, to taste.
All recipes, photographs, copy and content on this post and website are copyrighted © 2010-2013 by Kristen Hess/The Artful Gourmet. Please do not use, share or distribute this content in any way without expressed permission from me first. I received a bottle of Mina Harissa Green Harissa Sauce for product sampling. All opinions expressed are my own and this is not a paid advertisement.
