Harissa Tapenade

Directions

1. 1
   If you're concerned about sodium, soak olives in water overnight and drain. Pit olives if they are not already pitted.
2. 2
   Place the dried chiles in a bowl and pour enough boiling water over them to completely submerge them. Allow the chiles to soften (about 20 minutes). Drain, reserving some of the liquid.
3. 3
   Toast the cumin and coriander seeds on a dry pan over medium low heat until fragrant. Grind using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
4. 4
   Place drained/pitted the olives, drained chiles, garlic, and ground spices into a food processor. Process to desired consistency. Add the reserved liquid if you desire a thinner consistency.
5. 5
   Note: This is a general template for harissa. Other harissa recipes call for roasted bell peppers, mint, onions, and other spices (like caraway seeds). As part of my restrictive diet poker, I eliminated the olive oil and added salt by replacing it with whole olives. While olives are soaked in brine, I attempted to mitigate the sodium level by soaking them in water before hand.