Morocco – just the word itself brings you an image of exotic fabrics, beautiful carpets, plush cushions, lanterns and the amazing food. In 2007, my husband and I briefly went to Morocco, while we were visiting Southern Spain and had an amazing time that was too short, but managed to try local food and checked out the local markets which are called “souks”. One of the things I had never tasted before was a paste called Harissa which is a red chili paste that is used in meats, as a spread and in couscous. And since then, I keep a looking for it in the supermarkets and for the first time last month, I saw that Whole Foods have started selling this wonderful Moroccan brand called Alili of Morocco (http://www.alilimorocco.com/ )and picked up their version of Harissa which was comparable to one we had in Morocco in my opinion.
Ideas on how to use Harissa
- Topping for hot dogs with onions, or grilled lamb,on top of burgers and other meats- its almost the 2010 BBQ season !
-Serve with fresh mozzarella sliced with baby spinach leaves and olive oil.
- mix with some mayonnaise or hummus as a spread for your sandwiches
- mix with sour cream to create a dip for your chips
- in couscous, quinoa, rice or pasta and some olive oil
and much more..also if your interested in making this by scratch here’s a link to a great homemade recipe and article on Harissa http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/05/homemade-harissa-recipe.html
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