harissa is a tunisian spice, spread throughout north africa. extremely spicy, harissa paste adds a great flavor to all the recipes, whether meat, vegetables or cous-cous. the spicy piri piri pepper enhances the flavors of other spices and a very small amount of harissa is enough to give flavor to food.
harissa is a paste based on chili peppers (piri piri-, serrano peppers or other very hot peppers), olive oil, cumin, coriander, lemon juice, garlic.
in tunisia harissa is served to any dish or mezze. the tunisian people love harissa and use it in different combinations: to marinate the meat, added to fish or vegetables tajine, or to give extra flavor to cous-cous recipes or soups.
bream with harissa is a strongly flavored tunisian recipe, which i hope will make a nice introduction in the hot and colorful north african cuisine.
ingredients:
-1 sea bream
-harissa
-tomato paste
-1 red onion
-3 cloves of garlic
-1 bay leaf
-a little flour
-oil
-salt, black pepper
-1 lemon
-chopped parsley (or fresh coriander)
this is how harissa is sold, in tubes or boxes.
if you cannot find ready-made, you can prepare at home from the above ingredients (mix in the robot to obtain a homogeneous paste).
now we will do a trick to flavor the fish more. wash the bream and drain it well and wipe it with a kitchen towel.
notch the fish, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and then rub it with harissa.
harissa must enter the notches, to flavor the meat. cover with foil and leave it for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
then flour the fish and fry it in hot oil over medium heat.
when it turns brown roll it on the other side.
put it on a plate. gently fry a chopped onion in the remaining oil (not more than 2 tablespoons).
when onion is slightly colored, add a tablespoon of tomato paste.
stir and then pour a glass of hot water.
simmer over low heat. add the ground garlic and the bay leaf. put a teaspoon of harissa (attention, it's hot).
when the sauce is bound, put the fried sea bream in the pan, cover it with sauce and let it boil a little. the flavors will blend perfectly now. if you want, you can add some olive sauce.
when ready, squeeze half a lemon over the bream.
serve hot. garnish with chopped parsley or coriander (coriander adds the most original and exotic taste).
serve with slices of lemon and cous-cous or rice.
enjoy your meal!