In her home in Nabeul, the largest city in Tunisia’s harissa-producing Cap Bon region, local chef and harissa specialist Chahida Boufayed busies herself with carefully selected ingredients.
It’s a traditional recipe where bright red peppers are combined with garlic, vinegar and spices to create a saucy spread.
The condiment is a national staple and pastime, found in homes, restaurants and food stalls throughout the coastal North African nation.
“I don’t make it for money, but out of love. It’s a love story between me and harissa. I choose organic peppers, free from chemicals, not just any peppers,” says Boufayed.
At Nabeul’s 10th Harissa Festival the bustling crowds make their way to taste the products on Boufayed’s stall.
The brick-red, spicy and tangy paste can be scooped up on bread drizzled with olive oil or dabbed onto plates of eggs, fish, stews or sandwiches.
It can be sprinkled atop merguez sausages, smeared on savoury pastries called brik or sandwiches called fricassées.
The festival attracts aficionados from across Tunisia and the world.
It’s grown in popularity, especially since UNESCO, the UN’s scientific, educational and cultural organisation recognised harissa on its intangible cultural heritage list.
It describes harissa as: “an integral part of domestic provisions and the daily culinary and food traditions of Tunisian society”.
Harissa is now recognised on the cultural heritage list alongside Ukrainian borscht and Cuban rum.
Already popular across North Africa as well as in France, it’s gaining popularity throughout the world from the United States to China.
Seen as Sriracha’s North African cousin, harissa is typically prepared by women who sun-dry harvested Baklouti red peppers and then deseed, wash and ground them.
Its name comes from “haras” – the Arabic verb for “to crush” – because of how it’s made.
Harissa producer Kabira Berrich says: “There’s steamed harissa: we take red peppers, clean them, dehydrate them, then steam them before adding garlic and cumin. There’s also traditional harissa, made from dried peppers, and another variety called smoked harissa.”
Zouheir Belamin is the President of the Association for the Preservation of the City of Nabeul which organises the annual festival now in its 10th year.
“This event takes place two years after harissa’s inscription on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage in December 2022. This traditional element of our cuisine has contributed to the prominence of Nabeul and attracted many tourists and visitors to the city. Nabeul, the capital of traditional industries in Tunisia, has become a hub for all handmade and artisanal products,” says Belamin.
Nabeul’s Harissa Festival is much more than just a culinary event, it’s a celebration of Tunisian cultural identity and a tribute to artisans like Chahida Boufayed, who preserve ancestral know-how.
An age old tradition recognised by UNESCO’s world heritage list harissa is crossing borders and winning over palates worldwide.
Source: Africanews
