Hrous

Makes ½ cup (130 g)

The hrous mellows wonderfully over time; it can be refrigerated for up to 1 year.

If you like hot sauces, especially harissa, the Tunisian hot pepper paste, be forewarned: make this sauce once and you may never want anything else. A close cousin of harissa, hrous has more complexity from its wider blend of seasonings and its unusual base of onions lightly fermented in ground turmeric. Paula liked it so much, she published several versions. This one comes from her updated edition of Mediterranean Cooking.

“In a typical southern Tunisian home,” she wrote, every June, “the cook will slice about seventy pounds of fresh onions, toss them with salt and turmeric,… and leave them for three months.” In the fall, once the chiles have ripened and dried, the cook finishes the sauce. Here, Paula ferments the onion for just a few days (the longer it ferments, the more complex the final flavors). The fermenting onion gives off a pungent aroma, but it disappears once the onion is blended with the spices. Dried rosebuds are optional but worth seeking out for their faint sweetness and aroma.

1 cup (4 ounces | 115 g) thinly sliced yellow or Vidalia onion

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

2 tablespoons flaky sea salt

7 dried New Mexico chiles

1 ancho chile

½ teaspoon ground coriander or tabil (see note, here)

½ teaspoon ground caraway

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Generous pinch of ground cinnamon

Generous pinch of food-grade ground dried rosebuds (optional)

3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for topping if storing

In a wide, shallow bowl, combine the onion, turmeric, and salt and mix well. Cover loosely with a paper towel or cheesecloth and let stand at room temperature until soft and very wet, 1 to 3 days.

Working in batches, wrap the onion in cheesecloth, muslin, or a kitchen towel and squeeze tightly until very dry. As each batch is finished, transfer it to the bowl of a food processor. Let the onion sit while you prepare the chiles.

Stem and seed all the chiles and break them up into pieces. Place a small, dry frying pan over low heat, add the chile pieces, and toast them, turning them a few times, just until they are fragrant, about 2 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat to avoid burning and transfer to a plate to cool. Working in batches if needed, transfer to a spice grinder or mini food processor and grind to a powder.

Transfer the ground chiles to the food processor with the onion. Add the coriander, caraway, black pepper, cinnamon, rosebuds (if using), and olive oil and process until smooth.

The sauce can be used at once. To store, pack into a small jar with a tight-fitting lid, top with a ¼-inch (6-mm) layer of olive oil, cover, and refrigerate.

NOTE In Tunisia, this sauce is traditionally made with North African Nabeul chiles. Paula found that a mix of New Mexico and ancho chiles produces the closest approximation.