Tunisian Appetizer
HARISSA
INGREDIENTS
12 dried chile de arbol peppers or milder red chile peppers
4 garlic cloves
3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
3/4 teaspoon coriander
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
PREPARATION
Remove stems and seeds from peppers. (Always, always wash hands after handling chile peppers.) Put peppers in bowl of hot water. (This softens and relaxes the peppers.) Remove peppers after 30 minutes. Mince peppers and garlic cloves. Combine all ingredients in bowl.
Store in refrigerator for up to one month. This is one tough condiment.
TIDBITS
1) Caraway seeds reduce flatulence.
2) Moving quickly on, the word Tunisia comes from Tunis, the country’s capital, not the fish, tuna.
3) It’s a fact, Germany was never called Hamburgeria after its import port city of Hamburg.
4) The burg Hamburg is not named after ham. Ham is an English word. Hamburg is still in Germany and is likely to remain that way.
5) Unless of course, the movement of the Earth’s plates increase to such a phenomenal pace that Hamburg ends up being next to Boston sometime by press time for this book.
6) I would like to point out that if the Earth’s plates do move that fast there will be immense worldwide devastation. Book signings will be difficult to schedule.
7) Surfers though would have a great time. Those fast moving continents would generate tons of primo waves. Cowabunga, dude.
– Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef
My cookbook, Following Good Food Around the World, with its 180 wonderful recipes, my newest novel, Do Lutheran Hunks Eat Mushrooms, a hilarious apocalyptic thriller, and all my other books, are available on amazon.com.
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