Discovering new food when traveling is always a joy. I heard it said once that you must taste a culture to fully understand it, and I found that to be true on a recent trip to Tunisia with Overseas Adventure Travel. I found the terrain and geography to be as interesting and varied as the food was spicy and literally available for breakfast, lunch or dinner. In Tunisia you don’t have to eat the spicy pepper condiment harissa, but I quickly learned that my meal wasn’t complete without it on my plate to liven things up.
Tunisia is the number one exporter and producer of the condiment harissa, made from red chili peppers, primarily the red, elongated Baklouti pepper. I also saw and tasted green chili peppers and the wonderful sauce they created. Home made fresh harissa, especially when cooked into couscous was a treat for me. The green peppers are commonly served in salads and roasted alongside a meal, but I also experienced green pepper harissa. The red paste is available in a can, and it’s good, but not nearly as good as fresh, homemade harissa. Hotels typically serve canned harissa, and they keep it fresh with the olive oil that is local to the region.
I had apparently been eating harissa with chicken for several years without realizing it, since I grew to enjoy a red spicy condiment that was marketed as coming from Morocco. I now know it was harissa, since Moroccans eat harissa, but to a lesser degree then the Tunisians do. And of course, Americans are far more familiar with Morocco than Tunisia, so marketing a Tunisian condiment in the US likely wouldn’t sell as well as one coming from exotic Morocco. However, during my two visits to Morocco I don’t recall spicy food as part of a regular diet, although I did purchase some Moroccan spices. In Tunisia, it was a source of national pride. Harissa is also consumed in Algeria and in parts of Israel that are close ot Lebanon.
UNESCO lists harissa as part of Tunisia’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. So, while its clearly part of diets in North Africa and part of the Middle East, a trip to Tunisia would be incomplete without trying both harissa as well as the green chili peppers in the variety of forms in which its served there. I never fund a Tunisian cookbook when I was there, but I have come away from trips to North Africa and the Middle East with new recipes. I now have a can of the red paste harissa. I know to keep it fresh in olive oil, and I will gladly enjoy it with some Moroccan cuisine I have learned to cook.
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