Harissa (Recipe: pumpkin stew)

Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.

Ilsa didn't go to Rick's Café Americain for the food. In fact, nobody went to Rick's for the food. Drinking, yes. Smoking, of course. Gambling and trading? You betcha. A rousing chorus of La Marseillaise? Absolutely!

But food? Not a bite, and what a shame, because Rick's, the place to see and be seen in the classic film, Casablanca, surely might have had wonderful food, including couscous and tagines with spicy homemade harissa.

Harissa (also spelled harisa, which is more true to its pronounciation: hah REE sah) is the most important condiment used in Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian cooking, yet it is made from chile peppers -- often guajillo, New Mexico, ancho, cayenne or chile de arbol -- which were introduced to the region by explorers returning from the Americas.

From the Arabic word for "to break into pieces," harissa is made by pounding hot chiles in a mortar and then adding salt and sometimes garlic, plus spices such as coriander, cumin, caraway, or fennel; our modern-day mortar, the food processor, makes quick work of what is traditionally a lengthy preparation done by the women of a family.

Harissa is sold in tubes, cans or jars. Tunisian brands are considered the best, but it's easy to make your own using this recipe. You can make it hot or mild, depending on the chile pepper you choose. In the tube, or covered with olive oil in an airtight container, harissa will keep in the refrigerator for a month or more.

In Morocco, harissa often is served apart from the main dish, for diners to add to their own taste. In Tunisia and Algeria, it's an ingredient in the cooking.

In my cooking, harissa stands in for cayenne pepper, to spice up salad or soup, or a marinade or stew.

Rick and Ilsa, and even Captain Renault, would have loved it.

Pumpkin stew (marak dar marhzin)

A marak is a vegetable version of a tagine. Adapt this recipe to whatever root vegetables you prefer. Serves 6.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cups water
1 lb butternut squash or sugar pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 lb sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 14-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tsp harissa, or more to taste
3/4 cup raisins or dried cherries
3 tsp honey
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Parsley leaves, for garnish
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

In a small frying pan, heat the oil and add onions. Cook gently for 5 minutes, then add garlic, turmeric, ginger and cinnamon. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until the paste becomes slightly aromatic. Transfer mixture to the base of a large tagine.

Add carrots and water, stir, and cover the tagine. Cook for 10 minutes. Add squash, sweet potato, chickpeas, harissa, raisins and honey, plus salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender. Garnish with parsley leaves, and serve with couscous and lemon wedges to squeeze over the vegetables.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Spiced lentils with squash and raisins
Braised fish, Tunisian style

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Comments

Lydia,
Thanks for checking out my new color scheme. I'm going to make some tweaks to the sidebar for readability tomorrow morning. Please let me know if it makes a difference!

I am in a crazy mood for harissa, too. I added it into a lot of things :).

I made some pumpkin and tomato soup yesterday, and you´ve just reminded me that harissa will give it the perfect kick.

A weeks worth of stews! Just in time as the weather has finally turned cold. The vegetable tagine sounds like a winner - I can just imagine all those wonderful aromas permeating the house. Here's looking at you, kid!

What a great post! And I have been pronouncing it wrong in my mind. I have that very same little can in my refrigerator, but I haven't used it. This is something I've been planning to try for a long time.

Good for you!! Mary from Shazam in the Kitchen.

This sounds very simple and I have all that's needed in my pantry. A miracle, if I've known one!!

I will definitely check out this recipe & can't wait for your stews, it is getting chilly! Can you easily find canned harissa? The recipe is easy but I don't have a ready source for guajillo (do you think I can readily substitute the New Mexican chili?).

Kelly, will do.

Anh, I add it to soup, stew, and even scrambled eggs!

Lobstersquad, harissa with pumpkin is great -- really balances the sweetness.

TW, here's to beautiful friendship.... and stew in cool weather!

Kalyn, I think you'll really like harissa once you start using it. It's a great bump-up for many vegetable-based dishes.

Pauline, I agree -- hooray for Mary!

Mallika, aren't pantry dishes the best? I always know I can concoct something from my pantry, even if I'm low on veggies.

Callipygia, the canned harissa is easy to find in specialty stores but not so much in the regular grocery store, at least not here in Rhode Island. You can certainly substitute New Mexico chiles for guajillo to make your own harissa. But try mail order -- there are lots of online sources for harissa now.

I've never used harissa before but I think I've seen it used in some braised lamb shanks.

Having just tried some silkworm pupea that came in a tin, I can say with some authority that not all things in tins are good. However, we have used harissa from a tube and it was good, maybe if I mixed them together...

You are absolutely correct-the harissa will definately liven things up-like a swift kick in the pants! Even after storing it for over a year in the frig, it was still quite tasty. Somehow it got trapped in the back with the other science experiments!

I've never cooked with harissa, but I've certainly cooked with chili! This dish calls to me - big time! I'm not good at baking, so I'm not inclined to buy pumpkins. But for this? I'm in!

This looks excellent and now I know all veggies work beautiful. I used Harissa and love it.

Veron, do try this condiment -- it's not super spicy, but is very flavorful (and a tiny bit addictive...).

Neil, agreed, not all things in tins are good! And, hmmmm, whatever silkworm pupea is (I'll have to look that one up now), it can't help but be improved by large amounts of harissa.

Jann, I know what you mean about science experiments in the fridge. Yikes -- had to take my fridge door off last week and decided to deep clean the whole fridge. Oh, the things I discovered....

Toni, go with butternut squash instead of pumpkin for this if you prefer -- just don't leave out the harissa!

MyKitchen, you're so right. Any veggies will work. It's the spices that make this dish wonderful.

Carrots, squash, sweet potatoes...I've really been into orange food lately...this sound perfect.
Does this mean I have to by a tagine? Please tell me yes. There's one I've been coveting for months now!

Yum, harissa, la creme de la creme.

Katie, yes, absolutely, you must buy a tagine! (that's what you wanted to hear, right?) I hope you have such fun with it; I've been running lots of tagine-type recipes over the past few weeks.

Bea, oui, oui.

Love it!

Paz

Paz, thanks. This is a great dish for these cold nights we've been having.

This sounds just excellent. I've been trying to make harissa, but it never comes out as good as my favorite -- the stuff they put on the tables in pots at L'As du Falafel, a fantastic dive of a falafel place in Paris. Last time I was there I tried to bring some home in a cup. What a mess. I am going to try the stuff in tubes.

Christine, will your favorite Paris dive share their harissa recipe? And then, you can share it with us! The stuff in the tube is pretty good, but each brand is so different in taste and intensity, so you have to taste around to find the one you like.

I can buy harissa in the smallest jar you could imagine, I can only just get a teaspoon in it! A tube would be so much better!!

Kelly-Jane, I always need more than a teaspoon of harissa -- I love it, the spicier the better. You'll love the tubes. They are so efficient.

Mmmm, this sounds like just my sort of thing. I even have a pumpkin sitting around waiting for inspiration right now. I've never cooked with harissa, but that time has obviously come!

Danielle, I think you'll really like harissa. It's a cross between cayenne and Asian chili paste... so what could be bad?!

I just put out the word on Twitter that this is the best example I've seen of a good recipe post. Classic movie references, cultural contest, rich and deep linkage, and a kickass recipe; you should be proud. It's a pleasure to read even for those who are only going to phone out for pizza again!