NORTH AFRICAN fire

If Tunisia were as close to Los Angeles as Mexico is, there’s no doubt we would all be eating harisa today rather than salsa. Given how readily we Americans accept spicy food, we’d surely embrace it.

Harisa is the most important condiment in Tunisian cooking, used in nearly everything. In fact, in Tunisia you practically can’t cook without it. The first time you taste it, you’ll agree. You’ll start making it on a regular basis, then you’ll begin reserving shelf space in your refrigerator door for a jar of it.

The name comes from an Arabic word meaning “to beat, to break up” (in the eastern Arab countries, harisa is a wheat porridge beaten to a smooth paste), and that is how it is traditionally made. Dried chiles are reconstituted by soaking, then pounded in a mortar with garlic, caraway and coriander seeds and mixed with extra-virgin olive oil to the consistency of thick tomato paste. It’s a laborious process and, understandably, everyone uses a food processor for it today.

Harisa is used in the cooking of Algeria and Libya, and I’ve even seen it in western Sicily, where couscous, cuscusu, is made. But Tunisia is where it is really at home.

The Tunisians use harisa mostly as an addition to prepared dishes, such as putting a dollop in the broth for a couscous, adding a tablespoon to a ragout or spooning it on top of a breakfast stew of garbanzo beans. Some Tunisians like to take a little harisa, dilute it with olive oil and spread it on bread for a snack.

Some dishes require the addition of harisa, while for others it’s technically optional, but Tunisian cooks can’t seem to help themselves; they use it with the same abandon with which a Mexican cook might use jalapenos.

I became intrigued by harisa more than 20 years ago, when Mouldi Hadiji, my Arabic teacher, brought some into class. After years of experimentation, I have arrived at this version, based on a Berber-style harisa I had on the island of Djerba in southern Tunisia. It comes from a recipe description given to me by a merchant in the spice souk of Tunis, who, unfortunately, provided measurements that could last me a century (beginning with 50 pounds of chiles).

I had an illustrious group of opinionated people help me formulate it, including the Tunisian chef Moncef Meddeb; Mohammed Kouki, the doyen of Tunisian food experts; and cookbook authors Paula Wolfert, Martha Rose Shulman, Nancy Harmon Jenkins and Deborah Madison.

Though it’s impossible to think of Tunisian cooking without harisa, it could not have existed before Columbus’ voyages to the New World. That’s where the Spanish found chile peppers, which they brought back to Spain, where they were first used as ornamental plants before being adopted as food.

It seems likely that the Spanish introduced the chile pepper to Tunisia via the military presidios that dotted what was then known as the Barbary Coast in the first half of the 16th century.

Tunisian food at the time was not terribly spicy because it was a poor country and spices, being imported, were therefore expensive. But once chile peppers could be grown locally, what better way to spice up the otherwise monotonous food than through a pungent harisa?

Today, harisa is made commercially by both Tunisian and French companies and sold in tubes or cans. I find the Tunisian one better, but both versions pale in comparison to the vibrancy of the one you can make yourself so easily.

It takes a little effort, especially if you make it by hand, but after you make your first harisa--even with all the modern conveniences--you’ll certainly appreciate what exacting women’s work this once was, making it in the traditional mortar.

Of course, you’ll also appreciate how truly indispensable it will become in your cooking.

Wright is a Santa Monica cookbook author. His most recent book, “A Mediterranean Feast” (William Morrow, $35), was nominated for both international

Tunisian Spicy Chile Paste (Harisa)

Active Work Time: 10 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

To make salsa al-harisa (called harisa sauce), which is used as an accompaniment to grilled meats, stir together 2 teaspoons harisa, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons water and 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley leaves.

2 ounces dried guajillo chiles, about 8 chiles

2 ounces dried California chiles, about 8 chiles

5 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons water

Extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground caraway seeds

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground coriander seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

* Soak chiles in tepid water to cover until softened, about 1 hour. Drain and remove stems and seeds. Puree in blender or food processor with garlic, water and 2 tablespoons olive oil until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides.

* Transfer mixture to small bowl and stir in caraway, coriander and salt. Store in jar, covering surface of paste with layer of olive oil. Whenever paste is used, you must always top off with olive oil, making sure no paste is exposed to air; otherwise it will spoil.

Variation: To make very hot harisa, use 4 ounces dried guajillo chiles and 1 ounce dried chiles de arbol.

1 cup. Each tablespoon: 19 calories; 222 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.16 gram fiber.

Frittata With Grouper (Ma’quda bil-Mannani)

Active Work Time: 15 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour

A ma’quda is a dish of beaten eggs cooked in the oven to set like a pudding. It is a Tunisian equivalent of the Italian frittata and the Spanish tortilla, and it’s eaten in much the same way: as a light lunch or appetizer.

2 boiling potatoes, about 1 pound

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound grouper or red snapper, chopped coarsely

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves

6 eggs

2 teaspoons ground dried red chile

2 teaspoons harisa, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

Salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, for greasing

* Place potatoes in saucepan and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-high and cook until skewer glides easily to center, about 20 minutes. Drain, peel and pass through food mill. Set aside.

* In 9-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over high heat until nearly smoking, then add fish, onion and parsley and cook until onion turns translucent and fish turns white, about 4 minutes.

* Mix cooked fish mixture, potato puree, eggs, ground red chile and harisa in large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

* Liberally grease 2-quart casserole dish, preferably earthenware. Spread mixture in pan and flatten. Bake at 350 degrees until top is golden and eggs are firmly set and knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Divide into portions and serve warm or at room temperature.

6 servings. Each serving: 297 calories; 188 mg sodium; 240 mg cholesterol; 18 grams fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 19 grams protein; 0.58 gram fiber.

Spicy Ragout of Fish Balls (Tajin bil-Hut)

Active Work Time: 45 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

The fact that this dish is called a tajin means only that it is cooked in the earthenware casserole of the same name. Though nearly all tajins in Tunisia are cooked with eggs, this one is not. Spoon the remaining sauce in the casserole over the cooked fish balls when serving.

2 to 3 ounces stale Italian or French bread, crusts removed

1 egg

1 pound boneless white-fleshed fish such as cod, hake or halibut, cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley leaves

4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 large onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons harisa

Salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

2 cups olive oil, for frying

1 3/4 cups water

2 tablespoons tomato paste

* Soak bread in water and dry by squeezing by hand as if making snowball. Process egg in food processor 4 seconds. Add bread, fish, parsley, 3 garlic cloves, onion, 1 tablespoon harisa, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and process until pasty, scrapping down sides if necessary. If your food processor isn’t big enough, you may have to do this in batches. Remove paste from processor. Using wet hands to keep paste from sticking, roll into walnut-size balls. Flatten balls slightly so they look more like small hockey puck (or falafel).

* Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat until smoking, then cook several fish balls until light golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes, turning once. Do not crowd skillet as you cook them. Fish balls should be only half cooked. Repeat until all fish balls are browned.

* In casserole (preferably earthenware), bring to boil 1/4 cup oil used for cooking fish, water, remaining garlic, tomato paste, remaining harisa, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt, and remaining pepper. Add all browned fish balls, reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce is reduced by half and fish balls are springy to touch, about 20 minutes.

6 servings. Each serving: 138 calories; 233 mg sodium; 59 mg cholesterol; 6 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams protein; 0.20 gram fiber.