2/ HARISSA

Harissa is a fiercely hot and just as fiercely addictive chile paste from Morocco. Many cultures have invented their own version of this sauce—Thai sri racha, Vietnamese chile-garlic sauce, Korean hot sauce, Israeli zhug—all nearly interchangeable. It’s the wonder of peppers, I guess, which have evolved into so many regional varieties, all a great aid to taste and nutrition and digestion.

Harissa is delicious dropped in very small amounts onto hummus, on the side of anything potato-ey, next to roasted beets, added to mayo on an avocado sandwich, or just in tiny dollops with corn chips. It’s a real waker-upper. And it’s just as good in hot weather as cold.

Harissa keeps well in a jar in the refrigerator, though, given its ferocity, it is surprisingly not impervious to bacterial contamination. This is perhaps caused by children licking their fingers and dipping them into the harissa for a treat when bored with chocolate bars.

—Alastair Little and Richard Whittington, Food of the Sun: From the Mediterranean to Morocco and the Middle East

Lucy’s friend Simnia’s Tunisian stepmother Tikva makes a very basic harissa from just soaked hot chiles—seeds not removed—and olive oil.

The recipe from Food of the Sun, below, uses so much garlic it could be called hot, spiced garlic! And, even though I'm not wild about caraway seeds, this taste combination is something I start to crave after several weeks. Then I have to make more.

It seems like a kind of mystery to me that a food made “fresh” from “dried” ingredients can taste so good and so fresh. Michael says it’s about the essential oils whose freshness and flavor are retained when the package they’re in (dry pepper pods, garlic cloves, whole spices) remains unbroken. Then, when they’re soaked and whirred up or roasted and ground, the fresh oils are released—thus the marvelous flavor.

HARISSA

4 oz. dried hot red chiles
10 garlic cloves
1 T. coriander seeds
1½ t. caraway seeds
1 T. black peppercorns
½ t. salt
3 T. olive oil
3 T. vinegar

Pour boiling water over the chiles and leave to soak for 20-30 minutes. Don’t throw away this water. Note: I don’t have a kitchen scale, so I pile a ¼ c. measure very high and full with dried chiles—I buy a large bag from India that lasts for ages.

Pull the softened peppers apart, then scrape out the seeds and discard them. Put the flesh into a blender or food processor. (Wash your hands carefully with soap after handling the hot peppers, and try not to touch your eyes for awhile.) Peel and chop the garlic and put in with the chiles. Add the salt, olive oil, and vinegar. Whizz to a thick paste.

Toast the coriander, caraway, and black peppercorns in a dry pan over a low flame. Grind in a spice grinder and add to the blender or processor. If the paste is too thick, add a couple of tablespoons of the pepper soaking water (or just water if you don’t want to add any more heat). And enjoy.

Note: I’ll add a photo the next time I make harissa.

—Jane