HARISSA GIVES CARROTS SOME HEAT
Make this balanced and not overly spicy dish in minutes
I first tasted harissa when I was 19, and I travelled on a lone adventure to Tunisia after spending a semester abroad in France.
I browsed the open markets, with their appealing drapey white cotton clothing — I wore billowy pants from that trip for years to follow.
I was particularly drawn to the fragrant spice section of the market, which beckoned me over with its unfamiliar aromas. I bought as many small pouches of mystery spices that my student budget could afford. My favourite was harissa, a mix of chilies and warm spices like coriander, cumin and paprika.
Thirty years later, harissa is fairly easy to find here, either in a wellstocked neighbourhood supermarket or online. If you like spicy food at all, it’s a worthy purchase.
It’s available in both paste and powder, and once it’s on your shelf, you’ll find hundreds of uses for harissa: mix it into hummus or yogurt for a quick dip, add a spoonful to stews to deepen the flavour, rub meat for grilling, brush it on roasted vegetables, or even on buttered toast for a tasty garlic-bread-like indulgence. Another idea: add harissa to salad dressings.
This recipe for North African Carrot and Chickpea Salad pairs lightly sweet carrots with the warmth of harissa, and the result is balanced and not overly spicy, but feel free to add more or less according to your tastes.
Chickpeas add heft and protein, so you could turn this side dish into a vegetarian main, and herbs keep the dish bright and fresh. Purchasing the carrots preshredded is an excellent weekday time saver. But even if you start with whole carrots, the entire dish can be thrown together in minutes.
North African Carrot and Chickpea Salad MAKES 8 SERVINGS Salad
3 cups shredded carrots 1¼ cup cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained if canned, about 1 can ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint 2 green onions, chopped 2 tbsp chopped almonds Dressing 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 2 tbsp lemon juice or lime juice 1 tbsp water 1 tsp lemon or lime zest 1 tsp powdered harissa (or 1 tbsp harissa paste), or to taste (If you can’t find it, substitute a mixture of smoked or sweet paprika, cayenne, cumin, coriander and granulated garlic) ¼ tsp kosher salt 2 tbsp olive oil
Start to finish: 15 minutes Place all the salad ingredients in a salad bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, lemon or lime juice and zest, water, harissa and salt until well-blended.
Slowly whisk in the olive oil until blended.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Serve.
Per serving: 97 calories (45 from fat); 5 grams fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 milligrams cholesterol; 170 mg sodium; 11 g carbohydrate; 3 g fibre; 3 g sugar; 3 g protein.