It’s about connecting the dots for consumers who want to cook with actual Tunisian harissa. Cleaned and deseeded, they are then soaked in water, drained and ground into a paste with salt and whole cloves of garlic. Extra-virgin olive oil, coriander and caraway join the chiles, and sometimes lemon juice or vinegar as well, for brightness and preservation. As he was flipping through old photographs, he remembered the last meal she made for him: a meaty merguez stew ablaze with harissa (called markat merguez, tajine merguez or markat kaaber, depending on whom you ask). It was fine-tuned, the dish at its maximum potential: pickled olives and red peppers swimming in a deep-crimson pool of olive oil, with headily spiced meatballs bobbing like floats.
