Cacao, Roasted Pepper
And Chilli Harissa

Preheat an oven to 250°C. 

Wrap the chillies in a double layer of foil and place on a baking tray. Put the red peppers alongside them, but not in foil, on the same tray. 

Roast the hot oven for about 25 minutes, or until the peppers are slightly blackened and soft. Allow to cool slightly, then peel and deseed the red peppers. 

Remove the chillies from the foil, but leave whole, just removing any stalks. Put both the chillies and peppers in a blender or food processor and whiz to make a rough purée (don’t overwork; leave a little texture). Set on one side.

Toast the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan until they smell fragrant. Tip them into a pestle and mortar and crush them to a coarse powder. Place the puréed peppers and chillies in a large saucepan add the powdered cumin.

Bring the mixture to a boil over a medium heat, lower the heat and simmer gently until the sauce has reduced by about a half.  

Remove from the heat, add the olive oil, cacao, balsamic vinegar and salt to taste and stir until well combined. Spoon the hot harissa into warm sterilized jars, allow to cool slightly, then seal. This sauce should keep for at least 3 months in a cool place.

I eat this every morning on my avocado and fried duck eggs with a heavy grating of 100% cacao. This is one of the truly great things in life!