Harissa houston

And tajine malsouka, phyllo pastry with a quiche-like inside of egg, chicken, capers, turmeric, black peppercorns and cheese. Harissa is a red chile pepper paste that originated from the Cap Bon peninsula in Tunisia, where Muslims and Jews settled in the 16th century after being persecuted out of Spain for not converting to Christianity. They brought peppers with them, and locals eventually developed local varieties, such as baklouti, the main pepper in harissa today.

Peppers destined for harissa are traditionally sun-dried, but commercial mass-produced versions use an oven-drying method for speed and convenience. The result is a uniform, dark-red and sometimes watery paste squeezed from a tube.

Mansour and Karim are adamant that real harissa — the kind that is made from scratch in Tunisian homes — contains sun-dried peppers. This harissa is a more vibrant red color, with a coarser and flakier consistency and a more complex taste.

The sun is integral to this process. They soak the peppers in water, grind them with garlic and salt, then blend them with olive oil, coriander and caraway. The types and ratio of spices used in harissa vary from home to home in Tunisia. Some other families add cumin, black pepper or even dried mint.

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Harissa is an aromatic, hot chile pepper paste that is popular in North African and Middle Eastern cuisine, closely associated with the cuisines of Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Libya. The history of the chile goes back thousands of years to ancient Mayans, Aztecs and Incas, who cultivated the pepper in Mexico and Peru. Add celery, garlic, ginger, turnip, sweet potato and chicken.

Add enough chicken stock to come up but not entirely cover to the top of the chicken. Add another tablespoons harissa paste. Bring to a boil, lower heat and close lid. Simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the garbanzos, cook for another minutes. Season the dish, add more harissa to taste. To garnish, top with sliced radish, diced avocado, chopped spring onions, fresh mint and cilantro.

Morrocan herb sauce made with chopped tomatoes, minced garlic, ground cumin, sweet paprika, fresh cilantro, and parsley. Traditional sauce with greek yogurt, avocado puree, fresh mint, lemon juice, and jalapeno cilantro.

Moroccan Meatballs Kefta with feta goat cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Garnished with pickled red cabbage, cucumber-tomato, and red harissa.