These harissa roasted tomatoes are sweet, spicy, soft and juicy - serve with cous cous or wild rice. Get the recipe below.
Turn up the heat
I love autumn. I don't know if it's the cooler temperatures or the turning of the leaves but, I always get excited by autumn. While some people complain about the cold, I think it's the perfect opportunity to start cooking warming dishes. From pumpkin soup to cheesey vegetable pie: I like to cook dishes that fill your belly and warm you up! Of course a great way of doing that is to add a little spice to whatever it is you cook!
Rather than sharing another curry recipe, this time I looked to North Africa for some inspiration. Harissa is one of my favourite spice pastes. Made from hot peppers, garlic and spices such as caraway seeds, coriander seeds and cumin. Depending on where you get it from, it might also include paprika, tomato and even rose. It's a heady mix that brings wonderful heat and fragrance to whatever you cook with it.
If I'm looking for a really quick and easy dinner I will often raid my fridge for whatever vegetables I can find, smother them in harissa and cook them low and slow. But, my favourite combination is thinly sliced white onion, a mix of heritage tomatoes and big hunks of sweet red peppers. I fill a roasting tin with them, making sure they've all got enough space around them. I then spoon over generous helpings of harissa paste, loosened up with a little oil. Then roast. When the cooking time is up, the tomato juices will have bled into the pan helping to soften the onions and peppers. I add chickpeas in the last 10 minutes of cooking then, once it's done, I sprinkle over fresh coriander.
The Tomato Stall
If you grow your own, this recipe is the perfect way of using up a glut of tomatoes. You can, of course, make this from supermarket bought tomatoes if you don't have any growing your back yard. But, supermarket tomatoes aren't always the most flavourful option.
When I don't have tomatoes growing in my back yard I buy mine from The Tomato Stall. The Tomato Stall are heritage tomato growers in the Isle of Wight. It turns out that the Isle of Wight is the perfect place to grow tomatoes because of it's unique climate and huge amounts of sunshine it gets compared to the rest of the UK.
This post hasn't been sponsored by them, I just really love them! If you use my "refer a friend" link then you will get 10% off of your first purchase (and I will get 10% off of my next purchase too!)
The recipe
My favourite way to serve this dish is over wild rice but cous cous works just as well to soak up all of the spicy juices.
Harissa Roasted Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 white onion
- 1 large red pepper
- 500 grams tomatoes varying sizes and varieties
- 6 tablespoon harissa paste
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tin chickpeas drained
- salt
- pepper
- 1 handful coriander leaves only
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas mark 6.
- Thinly slice the white onion and place in the bottom of your roasting tin.
- Next, de-seed the pepper and cut into large pieces (roughly 1.5 inches in size) then place in the roasting tin on top of the sliced onion.
- Cut the tomatoes into halves and quarters - it's nice to leave them different sizes as they will then break down at different rates - and add to the roasting tin along with the other vegetables.
- Mix together the olive oil and harissa then spoon over the tomatoes.
- Place the roasting tin into the oven and cook for 25 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas to the roasting tin and give the vegetables a good mix - they should have softened nicely and the tomato juices should be bubbling in the bottom of the tin.
- Season well with salt and pepper.
- Place back in the oven and cook for another 10 minutes or until the vegetables are roasted and the chickpeas are hot.
- Leave to cool slightly before sprinkling with coriander leaves and serving over rice or cous cous.
Serve with
Get warm in the kitchen
As the weather gets colder, why not check out my Autumn Recipe Archive for more warming dinners.
Emily says
I love the sound of this! Harissa has so much flavour, beautiful photos!
Alexandra says
The flavours in this dish are absolutely divine - this is a new favourite side dish in our house!
Ellen says
What a great flavorful side dish. Pinning so I can make this with my garden tomatoes!
Emma Walton says
Sadly our garden tomatoes are finished for the year. Enjoy!
Danielle says
I know what you mean - I get the same feeling when the fall comes, although I know for sure that it is both - the leaves AND the cooking 🙂 Anyway, really looking forward to making your recipe - these tomatoes look fantastic!
Helen @ family-friends-food.com says
This sounds divine. I put harissa in everything - just a tiny bit adds a gorgeous depth of flavour. The one I buy is super fiery though, 6 tbsp would send you to A&E!
Emma Walton says
Our harissa paste isn't too spicy 🙂 perhaps I should add a note to adjust according to heat lol!
Erika says
I hadn't heard of harissa until more recently, but it looks and sounds so delicious!
Haley D. Williams says
Harissa makes this dish come alive! Yum!
Kiki Johnson says
I can only imagine how sweet and flavorful these tomatoes must taste! Would love these as part of a bowl!
Anjali says
Omg this recipe was absolutely amazing! I love roasted tomatoes and the harissa just took them to a whole new level!
Janice Pattie says
What a stunning dish, all those glorious colcours and the heat of Harissa, delicious.
Sisley White says
harissa and tomatoes are literally my favourite things so this is absolutely EPIC
Kavita Favelle says
We have a tonne of harissa paste so this is one I will try ASAP. Would make a great side dish to a simple roast chicken too, I think!