Harissa. What in the heck is harissa?
Harissa is a middle eastern paste. It is made with hot chili peppers and a variety of spices. It is a common ingredient in dishes served across North Africa and is especially associated with the cooking of Tunisia. In fact, UNESCO hgas recognized harissa as being central to Tunisia’s cultural and culinary heritage. In North Africa, harissa is used in soups, stews and couscous dishes. In the cauliflower recipe featured on this post, harissa is used to flavor the cream sauce.
If you are reading this and thinking to yourself that harissa is another one of those exotic ingredients that are difficult to find, fear not. It’s available at Trader Joe’s.
Here is the bottle I’m using at the moment. It’s a rose harissa I bought for an Ottolenghi recipe. This one IS a bit more hard to find. It has, of all things, rose petals in the mix.
This recipe is adapted from Ali Slagel’s cookbook I Dream of Dinner. You can order the cookbook through your local bookstore or on Amazon here.
Here is the recipe as I adapted it to my kitchen.
Harissa-Creamed Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 C. heavy cream
- 3/4 t. harissa
- 1 t. salt
- 1 t. pepper
- l large cauliflower (cut into small florets)
- 1 28-ounce can tomatoes (do not use the sauce)
- Generous pinch of cayenne pepper
- Additional cream as necessary for the sauce
- Additional harissa to your taste
- Sliced sourdough bread
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
- A dollop of sour cream or yogurt for garnish (optional)
Directions
- Step 1 Use a large Dutch oven for this recipe. Combine cream and harissa paste in the Dutch oven and stir to combine. Stir in salt and pepper.
- Step 2 Chop the fresh cauliflower into small florets and add them to the sauce.
- Step 3 Add 28-ounce can of tomatoes to the pan. I used whole San Marzano tomatoes (also from Trader Joe’s) and crushed them with my hands to get a good texture. (Important: Do not add the tomato sauce from the can to this dish. Use it for another use.)
- Step 4 Heat the mixture and simmer covered at medium until the cauliflower is tender. The original recipe said this would take 15-18 minutes but my cauliflower took about twice that time. Once the cauliflower is tender, remove the lid and simmer the cauliflower for a few more minutes to thicken the sauce. At this point I tasted the dish and adjusted the seasonings. I added about 1/4 C. more heavy cream (to thicken the sauce) and a generous pinch of cayenne pepper. You could also add more harissa at this point.
- Step 5 Serve the cauliflower in its flavorful sauce over a slice of toasted sourdough bread. Garnish the dish with chopped cilantro and a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.
