Harissa
I was walking down the international foods aisle at Central Market, looking for God knows what. Then, I spotted this guy:
Hello harissa.
I really can't remember where I had heard of it before. I checked my Mediterranean cookbook, and there was hardly a mention of it except for in a recipe that I never even considered making (raw turnip salad with harissa dressing). All I knew about it beforehand that it's some sort of spicy seasoning.
What is it really? Harissa is a hot chili sauce whose roots go back to North Africa, and is made up of chili peppers, tomatoes, and paprika. It's often used as a condiment, or to kick the spice up on other sauces, or as a marinade ingredient. The particular brand I bought, DEA, has a pretty prominent paprika taste to it, and a nice slow-building heat. Another observation about the can I bought, the company is based in Nîmes, France :)
After I tried tasting the harissa straight-up a couple of times, I realized where I might have had it before. Back when I was a grad student at Columbia, one of my favorite places to grab lunch was the Lebanese place on 113th/Broadway, Amir's Falafel. Seriously, my friend Wil and I would go there at least twice a week, their shawarma beef was like crack. But one of the things I liked most about the place was their hot sauce. It wasn't your typical Frank's or Tabasco, so heavy on the vinegar. It had a somewhat smoky chili and paprika flavor to it and delivered the heat, but it didn't add so much of an acidic bite that the standard American hot sauce has.
Actually one of my favorite things about Amir's Falafel is a memory of one time I had lunch there with Wil. The chalkboard at the front of the restaurant had some specials listed. I didn't pay the board much attention, I glanced at it as I walked to the counter and saw "Hummus". Wil pointed out that it was definitely written as "Homos." Awesome.
I did some searching to see what is a good way to use harissa in a meal, and I found a spicy North African-inspired chicken recipe. Check it out after the jump.
