ALON SHAYA’S HARISSA

Once you make this, you’ll want to eat it with everything (eggs, rice, beans … watermelon!). If you can’t find guajillos, Shaya suggests using four additional ancho chiles. Water, for the peppers

15 dried árbol chile peppers 2 dried guajillo chile peppers 1 dried ancho chile pepper 1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds 1 ½ teaspoons whole coriander

seeds

2 large cloves garlic, crushed 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar 1 teaspoon Morton kosher salt 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika 1 tablespoon tomato paste ¾ cup olive oil, divided

Fill a small saucepan with water, and bring it to a boil. Add all the dried peppers, and remove from the heat. Cover, and steep for at least 1 hour, or until the water has completely cooled.

Strain the peppers and, with a paring knife, trim away the stems and split them lengthwise. Scrape away their seeds and any of the stringy pith inside; wearing latex gloves will keep your fingertips from burning. Be sure to get rid of all the seeds and pith, or else the harissa will be crazy spicy. Add to the bowl of a food processor, and set aside.

Toast the cumin and coriander in a small skillet over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes, until you start to smell them. Crush them with a mortar and pestle, or in a ziplock bag with a meat mallet, to release all their aromas.

Add the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, paprika, and tomato paste to the peppers in the food processor, and combine. Once everything is blitzed together, stream in 1⁄2 cup olive oil.

Scrape the sauce into a container, and stir in the remaining 1⁄4 cup olive oil by hand. This last addition lingers on the surface and absorbs all the flavors around it. Harissa keeps for months in the fridge, and once you start using it you’ll find it has a home on just about everything. With its smoky heat, it’s one of the best “hot sauces” around. Yields: About 1 cup

Per tablespoon: 107 calories (percent of calories from fat, 84), trace protein, 4 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 10 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 127 milligrams sodium. Adapted from “Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel” by Alon Shaya (Knopf, $35).

FOOD STYLING BY WENDELL BROCK. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS BY HENRI HOLLIS