Hooray for Harissa

Harissa sauce, or paste, can range in color from relatively light, like my orangey spread, to a much deeper red.

My homemade harissa is a fast, simple, saucy paste of red peppers, walnuts, garlic, and any number of optional spices. It can be as fiery or as mild as you wish, but it tastes fantastic pretty much any way you put it together. It’s a super flexible recipe, so ingredient amounts don’t have to be exact.

So where exactly does this stuff come from? Well, according to Wikipedia:

Harissa is a Tunisian hot chilli sauce commonly eaten in North Africa whose main ingredients are Piri piri chili peppers, serrano pepper or other hot chillis and olive oil. It is a standard ingredient of North African cuisine,^[1] most closely associated with Tunisia and Algeria^[2] but recently also making inroads in Morocco according to food expert Paula Wolfert.^[3]

Recipes for harissa vary according to the household and region. Variations can include the addition of cumin, red peppers, garlic, coriander, and lemon juice. In Saharan regions, harissa can have a smoky flavor. Prepared harissa is also sold in tubes, jars, and cans.

I have a feeling this versatile sauce, which can be used as a dip, condiment, pasta sauce, soup topper, meat marinade, and more, will make an appearance at my upcoming Upstate New York Yoga retreat. I’m so excited about the retreat. I’m planning all sorts of fun activities, like a meal made on the grill, a farm tour, and lots of great Yoga classes and downtime.

Looking for a more immediate use of harissa? It’s a key part of another my North African-influenced sweet potato stew.

Harissa Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 jar roasted red bell peppers
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3-5 garlic cloves, peeled and quartered
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (you decide how big or small)
• 1/2 teaspoon each (or more) of any or all of the following: cumin, coriander, caraway seeds, cardamom, allspice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Rinse and drain jarred bell peppers.

2. Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, adding a bit of water if needed to get/keep things moving.

3. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Add more of the other spices if you wish. Re-blend. Taste, and serve immediately, or jar it in an airtight container and put it in the fridge.

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Tangy Tahini Red Pepper Salad Dressing

Just a little tahini-red pepper-cumin dressing that I whipped up in a blender, but it's an oh-so-tasty way to dress a salad.

We’ve talked before about how I eat a lot of salads. Love them! So dressing them properly and deliciously is of the utmost importance. Dressing a salad isn’t so different from dressing one’s self, I suppose. Now I’m much more foodie that fashionista any day, but there are indeed parallels when it comes to this dressing business.

Dressing a salad with a tasty, inviting option reminds me of donning a gorgeous outfit paired with the perfect accessories. Sometimes the accessories even steal the show and garner the most compliments!

As for accessorizing my salads, I avoid the bottled stuff unless I’m in a situation where there’s no practical way to make my own dressing. Even the best bottled dressings don’t hold a candle to a good, homemade dressing, IMHO. Fighting words? Maybe!

Check out the accessories I chose to go with this outfit--gold heels and some fun bangles. Nope, wasn't going for the minimalist look that night at my friend's traditional Afghan wedding!

Yeah, dressings usually have fat, but can be good fat, especially in moderation and if the dressing motivates you to eat more salad and veggies. Here’s my latest salad dressing creation, with it’s brick-red color and the bold flavors of mellow tahini, sweet red pepper, and earthy cumin give it that Middle Eastern vibe I love so much. It has a hint of spice and a pleasant smokiness in the background.

Oh, and I even snuck in some super healthy flax seeds, which are great for, among other things, the skin and digestive system. Cuz I’m stealthy healthy like that ;-)!

You can bet we’ll be whipping up a batch of this brick red beauty this weekend at the Yoga retreat I’m hosting.

For now, mas-salama and shanti, ya’ll!

Tangy Tahini Red Pepper and Cumin Salad Dressing

In a blender, combine:

4 Tablespoons tahini paste

2 Tablespoons flax seeds

2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional, but worthwhile, as it gives a subtle cheesy flavor

2 large garlic cloves

3 scallions, chopped, or 2 Tablespoons of onion, chopped

1 Tablespoon of paprika

1 teaspoon red pepper paste, or 1/4 of a fresh or roasted red bell pepper

1 teaspoon of cumin (more if you want!)

Squeeze of lemon (optional)

Water for blending

Salt and pepper to taste (optional–I found I didn’t need any!)

1. Put all ingredients except water into the blender. Add enough water so that everything can move around when the blender’s on. Add more water as needed to create the desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.

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Spicy North African Sweet Potato Slow Cooker Stew

A rich, flavorful dish North African-inspired sweet potato Crockpot stew. This vegan dish takes help from the slow cooker and store-bought or a quick homemade harissa paste.While it's vegetarian (really vegan), you could easily add in meat, though it's plenty hearty and flavorful without any meat.

Inspiration to cook can come from near, far, or simply your pantry. Not far from where I live, there is a thriving neighborhood with many African immigrants. They come from different countries like Senegal, Mauritania, and Mali, to name a few. I noticed that on some of the restaurant menus, they have a stew made with peanut butter, herbs, meats, and vegetables, root vegetables in particular.

Such a stew sounded like a great idea, and I decided to make a sweet potato-based vegan stew of my own with harissa sauce and almond butter providing the flavoring. Harissa is a hot chile sauce made from crushed chilies, tomatoes and paprika, and herbs like coriander and caraway. So you see, I took a distinctly West African dish, put a North African spin on it (harissa is a common ingredient in the cuisines of North Africa), and used my American peanut-butter alternative to come up with something unique, healthy, and fun.

I served this stew with brown rice and a side of collard greens. It was a meal that was hearty without being heavy, and quite tasty.

Spicy North African Sweet Potato Stew

1-2 teaspoons neutral cooking oil of choice (I used coconut oil)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

4 grated garlic cloves

2 cups low sodium vegetable broth or stock

2/3 Cup almond butter

4 medium sweet potatoes in large chunks (peeling optional; scrub thoroughly if leaving peels on)

1 medium potato, diced (peeling optional; scrub thoroughly if leaving peels on)

2 Tablespoons Harissa paste (Don’t have? See Note below this recipe to make your own)

1 Tablespoon turmeric

2 teaspoons fenugreek

Pinch each of cinnamon and allspice

Salt and pepper to taste

1 can black beans, drained

Optional: garnish with herbs of choice. Some good options: cilantro, flat-leaf parsley, watercress.

Directions

1. In a small skillet or saucepan, gently warm coconut oil over a medium flame. Once oil is shimmery, add in onions and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Lower heat to low, then add in ginger and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes more. Turn off heat and remove pan from heat.

2. Place all ingredients except for black beans and herb garnish into the slow cooker. Stir thoroughly, making sure to break up any lumps in almond butter and harissa paste.

3. Cook on high for 4-6 hours, or low for 8 hours. Adjust seasoning to taste. Stir in black beans, and garnish with herbs, if using.

NOTE: If you don’t have harissa paste/sauce, whip up a simple version by blending one jarred bell red bell pepper (rinsed) and/or a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste with one tablespoon of paprika, a few chili flakes, and a few herbs. Toss in a pinch of whatever you have of the following: ground cumin, coriander, caraway, allspice, nutmeg, and blend.

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