Give Your Spaghetti Sauce A Kick With One Spicy Ingredient

Tossing spaghetti with a jar of marinara or into a pan of quickly homemade pasta sauce can make for an easy weeknight meal. However, even in a time crunch, you may wish your final dish had a more amped-up flavor. Next time you need more depth in your pasta, reach for some harissa, just one of the many secret ingredients to dress up spaghetti sauce. This Tunisian condiment will add a smoky and spicy kick to any recipe.

At its most basic, harissa is typically a blend of chilies, salt, and olive oil. Beyond that, regional varieties of the paste are brightly flavored with additions like fresh garlic, lemon juice, and spices such as cumin and coriander seeds. When using harissa (whether the paste, sauce, or rehydrated powder), toast it in a pan with some oil until it darkens in color. This will intensify the taste, and it can be cooked alongside other ingredients like onions, garlic, and tomato paste.

Since the harissa will kick up the heat of your sauce, go slow when adding it. Start with one tablespoon of the condiment at a time, then taste as you go. A good rule of thumb is that for each pot of sauce, around two tablespoons add a mild spiciness, while five will result in an extra hot dish. The heat level varies depending on the brand of harissa and the peppers used, but if you're not a fan of too much spice, look for products labeled "mild."

You can make your own harissa at home, controlling the amount of peppers, salt, and oil included to create the perfect pasta mix-in. You can also often find pre-made harissa in well-stocked grocery stores or African and Middle Eastern specialty grocery stores. Harissa is also sometimes found in French grocery stores, due to Tunisia being a protectorate of France from the late 1800s to 1956. This resulted in a culinary cultural crossover, and harissa is now a common ingredient in French kitchens.

When buying pre-made harissa, you can find it in three forms: powder, paste, or sauce. The paste is arguably the preferred variety for pasta, because it tends to have the deepest flavor. It can be purchased in small cans or capped tubes (the latter of which is easier to save for future recipes). Harissa sauce, a much thinner version of the paste, is often sold in jars. The ingredients are typically dressed up with roasted red bell peppers, which add bulk and sweetness. Harissa powder contains dried peppers and spices, which can be mixed with oil and water until a paste forms. This variety often doesn't have as much of a bright and fresh taste as the prepared paste, however.

Rose harissa is sold alongside traditional harissa, though this version features either rose water or crushed rose petals. This variety adds a particular floral flavor, which would be especially delicious in vegetarian bolognese.