Spicy Popcorn Snack with Harissa Seasoning
A blend of five spices you likely have on hand mimics the key flavors of Moroccan harissa paste. Cumin, coriander and caraway are the perfect trifecta that forms the base, but if you do not have caraway, the blend still works and tastes delicious. The flavor is more than just hot pepper spicy. It's well rounded with garlic, smoked paprika and chili powders. The caraway and sumac bring it up another notch but aren't required.
Servings: 4
Calories: 123kcal
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup popcorn kernels popped (I use air popper)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter sub salted butter and eliminate sea salt as ingredient
- 2 tsp olive oil
Spice Blend - see notes
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder I use chipotle chile powder for smokiness but use whatever blend you like.
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Optional Ingredients - see notes
- 1/2 tsp sumac
- 1/2 tsp caraway seeds ground (I use a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle)
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke I like Colgin's
Instructions
- Pop the popcorn (air popper works great, but anything is fine).
- Melt the butter with olive oil and whisk in spices, salt. See notes
- Lightly drizzle the spiced butter mixture over the popcorn, in a large bowl, using a silicone spatula to lightly and continuously evenly distribute the mixture. As you can see in my photos, the spice mixture will tend to plop in larger than desired bits across the popcorn. You can add an additional teaspoon of olive oil to the mixture to help it's ability to mix into popcorn more easily. Take the extra time to distrubute the mixture well for delicious popcorn!
Notes
Spice blend- If you like harissa flavors, and want to be able to make more of my or your harissa recipes, consider using 1 Tbsp of my Easy Homemade Harissa Spice Blend in place of the listed spices here. You'll have enough on hand for many batches of popcorn if you make it this way!
The caraway and sumac are listed as optional since you may be less likely to have them on hand. Caraway lends a nuttiness and is present in most harissa pastes, and sumac is my addition to replace the lack of red pepper or tomato in the dry spice blend. It lends a tang.
The Colgin's liquid smoke is totally optional, but I've come to like the subtle authentic smoked flavor it brings recipes and it makes the popcorn really come alive as a special snack.
Nutrition
Calories: 123kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 297mg | Potassium: 62mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg | Magnesium: 20mg | Net Carbohydrates: 9g