Harissa ( ar, هريسة ''harīsa'', from

Maghrebi Arabic Maghrebi Arabic (, Western Arabic; as opposed to Eastern or Mashriqi Arabic) is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb region, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. It includes Moroccan, Al ...

) is a hot

chili pepper paste Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers. Chili sauce may be hot, sweet or a combination thereof, and may differ from hot sauce in that many sweet or mild varieties exist, which is typically lacking in hot sauces ...

, native to the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

. The main ingredients are

roasted Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...

red peppers ''Red Peppers'', described as "an interlude with music", is a short comic play in two scenes by Noël Coward. It is one of ten short plays that make up '' Tonight at 8.30'', a cycle written to be performed in groups of three plays across three ...

Baklouti pepper The Baklouti pepper ( ar, بقلوطي, baqlūṭī) is a cultivar of the chili pepper (''Capsicum annuum'') found in Tunisia. It is the main ingredient in harissa, a common sauce in Tunisian cuisine made from smoked ground pepper. It is named af ...

s (),

spices A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices are ...

and herbs such as garlic paste,

caraway Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...

seeds, coriander seeds, cumin and olive oil to carry the oil-soluble flavors. Rose harissa, made with rose petals, is also made.

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

is the biggest exporter of prepared harissa and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

lists it as part of Tunisia's Intangible Cultural Heritage. The origin of harissa goes back to the importation of chili peppers into Maghrebian cuisine by the Columbian exchange, presumably during the Spanish occupation of

Ottoman Tunisia Ottoman Tunisia, refers to the episode of the Turkish presence in Ifriqiya during the course of three centuries from the 16th century until the 18th century, when Tunis was officially integrated into the Ottoman Empire as the Eyalet of Tunis. Ev ...

between

1535 __NOTOC__ Year 1535 ( MDXXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 18 – Lima, Peru, is founded by Francisco Pizarro, as ''Ciudad de l ...

and

1574 __NOTOC__ Year 1574 ( MDLXXIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * February 23 – The fifth War of Religion against the Huguenots begins ...

Etymology

The word derives from the Arabic root 'harasa' () 'to pound, to break into pieces', referring to pounding chilis.

Consumption and culinary traditions

Algeria

In Algeria, harissa is commonly added to soups, stews, and couscous. Harissa paste can also be used as a rub for meat or eggplants. Another significant producer is Algeria's

Annaba Province Annaba ( ar, ولاية عنابة) is a province (''wilaya'') in the north-eastern corner of Algeria. Its capital, Annaba, is Algeria's main port for mineral exports. History In 1984 El Taref Province was carved out its territory. Administr ...

, which is also a significant consumer. According to cookbook author

Martha Rose Shulman Martha Rose Shulman is an American cookbook author, cooking teacher and food columnist for ''The New York Times''. Her father was author Max Shulman. Biography Shulman has been writing healthy eating cookbooks for over 30 years since the 1970s. Sh ...

, premade harissa tastes rather different from that which is served in Tunisian and

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

restaurants.

Israel and Lybia

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, harissa is a common topping for ''

sabich Sabich or sabih ( he, סביח ) is a sandwich of pita or laffa bread stuffed with fried eggplants, hard boiled eggs, chopped salad, parsley, Amba (condiment), amba and tahini sauce. It is an Iraqi Jews, Iraqi Jewish dish that has become a stap ...

'' and ''

shawarma Shawarma (; ar, شاورما) is a popular Middle Eastern dish that originated in the Ottoman Empire, consisting of meat cut into thin slices, stacked in a cone-like shape, and roasted on a slowly-turning vertical rotisserie or spit. Tradition ...

''. Filfel chuma ( he, פלפלצ'ומה), also spelled pilpelshuma, literally "pepper garlic", is the typical

chili sauce Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers. Chili sauce may be hot, sweet or a combination thereof, and may differ from hot sauce in that many sweet or mild varieties exist, which is typically lacking in hot sauces ...

of Libyan Jewish cuisine which is very similar to the harissa.Gur, Jana; (et al.) (2007)
''The Book of New Israeli Food: A Culinary Journey''
Schocken Books. pg. 295. It comes from

Libyan cuisine The cuisine of Libya is Arab and Mediterranean with Italian influence. One of the most popular Libyan dishes is ''bazin'', an unleavened bread prepared with barley, water and salt. ''Bazin'' is prepared by boiling barley flour in water and then ...

, where it is known as ( ar, المصير or ).''How to make Libyan maseer''
/ref>
/ref> It is also known by other names such as ''filfil mukhalal'' () and ().''How to prepare mseyer in the Libyan cuisine''
/ref> It is made from powdered sweet and hot

peppers Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

and crushed garlic. Other ingredients, such as ground

caraway seeds Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...

, cumin,

lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...

, and salt are sometimes added. It serves as a

condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is served separat ...

and as an ingredient in dishes such as salads, meat, fish, legumes and rice, and egg dishes such as ''

shakshouka Shakshouka ( ar, شكشوكة : šakšūkah, also spelled ''shakshuka'' or ''chakchouka'') is a Maghrebi dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion and garlic, commonly spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper ...

''.

Morocco

Moroccan cuisine Moroccan cuisine () is the cuisine of Morocco, fueled by interactions and exchanges with many cultures and nations over the centuries. Moroccan cuisine is usually a mix of Arab, Berber, Andalusi, and Mediterranean cuisines, with minimal Europe ...

has also adopted harissa, using it as a side condiment for tagines, or sometimes mixed into dishes.

Tunisia

Recipes for harissa vary according to the household and region. Variations can include the addition of

fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

onions or lemon juice. Prepared harissa is sold in jars, cans, bottles and tubes. Harissa is sometimes described as "Tunisia's main condiment", even "the national condiment of Tunisia", or at least as "the hallmark of Tunisia's fish and meat dishes". In Tunisia, harissa is used as an ingredient in a meat (poultry, beef, goat meat, goat, or lamb meat, lamb) or fish stew with vegetables, and as a flavoring for couscous. It is also used for ''lablabi'', a chickpea soup, and fricasse. Tunisia is the biggest exporter of prepared harissa. In 2006, the Tunisian production of harissa was 22,000 tonnes, incorporating about 40,000 tonnes of peppers. Tunisian harissa is often made with Baklouti pepper, Baklouti peppers and chilis grown around Nabeul and Gabès, which are relatively mild, scoring 4,000–5,000 on the Scoville scale. On December 1 2022,

added "Harissa, knowledge, skills and culinary and social practices" as part of Tunisia's Intangible Cultural Heritage.

References

{{portal bar, Food African cuisine Tunisian cuisine Herb and spice mixtures Algerian cuisine Arab cuisine Chili paste Libyan cuisine Mediterranean cuisine Mizrahi Jewish cuisine Sephardi Jewish cuisine