Harissa suggestions?

When I read Jenise's recipe for merguez sausage, I had to go to Google to find out what harissa was. When I read the recipe for it, I thought, "hey, this is a Thai curry paste with Moroccan flavors". So when I made a fresh batch of red and green Thai curry pastes the other day, I also made a batch of harissa.

So apart from a couple of tablespoons per two pounds of merguez sausage, what other dishes use harissa?

-Paul W.

Mmm, it's tasty paste. Smear on almost anything, I say.

Traditionally, it is stirred into soups, stews, and couscous.

Add to mayonnaise and use as a condiment with anything (I like it for french fry dipping).

I keep a batch of green harissa and a batch of red harissa in the freezer almost at all times because they come in handy for just about anything you can think of.
Tonight I smeared some on steamed carrots with chopped cilantro, lemon juice and zest. I've used it on baked potatoes, pork tenderloin, lamb or chicken kabobs. Mix a bit in yogurt sour cream or mayo as a condiment for the grilled meat. Swirled in a hearty vegetable soup....too many uses to name
There are innumerable recipes for harissa and I prefer a more intensely spiced version. It is a very versatile

I love harissa. Does anyone have a recipe for it? I tried ordering a spice mix online -- through Amazon -- and it was really disappointing. I have found a brand by the company "Cava" that is great, but not totally what I consider authentic (it's much more tomato based that what I'm used to). I'd like to try to make my own, and wonder if anyone has a tried and true recipe.

There were a couple posted back on the old board. One is here, and another (from Chez Panisse) is here.

Haven't tried either of them myself - I tend to buy the stuff that comes in the toothpaste tubes.

I just posted the harissa recipe that I used the other day to make a batch of merguez sausage.

-Paul W.

I suggest the cookbook Mourad: New Moroccan by Mourad Lahlou. He has an entire chapter on harissa with two recipes for wet harissa and one for a harissa powder. Within that chapter there are different recipes for how to use the various concoctions. I haven't tried making my own so far, but that will happen pretty soon.