Contents
A Tunisian chilli paste — rehydrated dried chillies pounded with garlic, salt, olive oil and toasted spice, usually caraway, coriander seed and cumin. The caraway is what distinguishes it from every other chilli paste, and a harissa without it tastes like generic hot sauce.
Harissa de Nabeul holds a Tunisian protected designation, and in 2022 harissa was inscribed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Strength varies enormously
This is the practical warning. Brands run from mild smoky paprika paste to genuinely fierce, and nothing on the jar reliably tells you which you have bought. Start with a teaspoon and work up — the recipes in Cold Meals assume a moderate one.
Rose harissa has dried rose petals in it: softer, more floral, generally milder. It is the easiest one to buy blind.
Tube, jar or dried
- Jar / tin — the standard, oil-topped. Best texture.
- Tube — convenient, usually more concentrated and saltier.
- Powder — a dry spice blend, not a paste. Not a substitute without oil and liquid added.
In cold food
Harissa is a dressing ingredient, not just a condiment. Whisked into oil and lemon it turns a plain vinaigrette into the dressing for couscous bowl, and it works the same way in a yogurt sauce or spread thinly under the filling of hummus vegetable sandwich.
Because it already carries salt, garlic and acid, cut back on all three elsewhere in the dish.
Keeping
Months refrigerated once opened, provided the surface is covered with a film of olive oil. Freezes in cubes.
Elsewhere on the site
Used in: couscous bowl · hummus vegetable sandwich · mezze plate
Related: sriracha · chili crisp · sumac · zaatar · sauces · Dry Seasoning Blends