I know I’m always saying simplicity is best and blah blah blah, but I am obsessed with condiments. Ooooobsessed. My fridge door is laden with them. I love ketchup and I don’t care how gross that makes me seem, ketchup is a amazing. When I’m hungover I just want piles of ketchup. Food is an afterthought, it just becomes the vehicle for its consumption.

I can get behind all chutneys, jams, mayonnaise, mustard, and all of the weird things. When I eat dinner, my condiments surround my plate like little best friends. That sounds incredibly sad, but I do have a real-life dinner companion every night. Buuut I was single for a long time, so there’s that.

A condiment that gets lost under the radar is harissa. I feel like a snake when I say it. “Harissssssa.” Harissa is a spicy spread, both in heat and flavor. It rounds itself out with a hit of acid. It’s a firecracker addition to eggs, fish, chicken, or in a dressing with honey. Use it as you would hot sauce.  I made my dad scrambled eggs one morning with this on top and he was very happy. It’s sold at most supermarkets and the options are just fine, but as always, there’s nothing like making your own.

And this recipe isn’t super involved. It’s a quick saute and then puree. Tasting it will make you proud that something so good came out of your kitchen. I suggest not sharing, because although it is caring, it will disappear at an alarming rate. And then it won’t have a chance to make it on the best friend condiment rotation. Make it anyways.

Harissa

Adapted from Ottolenghi

Note: I know some people don’t have a spice mill and blending spices can be annoying, if so, use 1 teaspoon of each ground coriander or cumin. Caraway is difficult to find ground, so just use the seeds. Instead of toasting them at the beginning whole, add the ground spices to the pepper and onion soffrito towards the end of sauteing.

Ingredients

1 red pepper

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

1/2  teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2  teaspoon caraway seeds

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small red onion, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

3 hot red chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Under a very hot broiler, place the pepper. Let it broil for about 25 minutes, turning it occasionally, until blackened on the outside (like really black, don’t worry, it’ll be peeled) and completely soft. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to cool. Peel the pepper and discard its skin and seeds.

In a pan over low heat, lightly toast the coriander, cumin, and caraway seeds for 2 minutes. Remove them to a mortar and use a pestle to grind to a powder. Alternatively, use a spice blender. (Skip this step if using ground spices)

In a frying pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onion, garlic, and chiles for 10 to 12 minutes, until they’re a dark, smoky color and almost caramelized. (If using ground spices, add them towards the end of this process).

In a blender or a food processor, blitz together the saute, spices, pepper, tomato paste, lemon juice, and salt until smooth, adding a little more oil if needed.

Store in a sterilized jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.