Tunisian Vegetable Stew with homemade harissa

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Ahead of time, cut the zucchini, carrot and potatoes into evenly sized cubes.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   StovePot
3. 3
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 4
   Add the garlic and fry 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 5
   Soak the dried peppers 30 minutes in hot water, drain and remove the seeds.

   Bowl
2. 6
   Grind the peppers in a food processor with the garlic, salt and black pepper.

   Food processor

   💡In a food processor, grind in short pulses and check between pulses: it's easy to go from coarse to paste. (Sesame for tahini, on the other hand, is ground continuously.)
3. 7
   Add the oil in a thin stream, while Tahini, until a smooth paste.

   Food processor

   💡The thin stream is everything: fat that goes in too fast can't bind, and the sauce breaks. For mayonnaise and hollandaise, if this happens, start with a fresh yolk and slowly add the broken sauce to it; if the sauce is too thick, thin it with a teaspoon of water.
4. 8
   Add the harissa, cumin, turmeric, salt and black pepper and stir.
5. 9
   Add the carrot, potatoes, zucchini, tomato paste and water and bring to a boil.

   Stove
6. 10
   Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.

   StoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
7. 11
   Serve the stew hot with fresh bread.