Carrots with cumin and harissa — Tunisian kemia

pareve Tunisian Jewish · easy · 45 min, including 15 hands-on

Carrot slices simmered with garlic in salted water, then tossed while hot in a deep red dressing of softened garlic, cumin, caraway, harissa and vinegar, brought to life in warm oil. Serve this Tunisian kemia warm or cold; it tastes even better the next day.

Ingredients for two

Method

1. Peel the carrots and cut diagonally into 1 cm slices. Put in a 20 cm saucepan with the 2 whole peeled garlic cloves and enough cold water to cover by 2 cm (about 1 litre). Add the 10 g coarse salt, cover and bring to the boil over a high heat, allowing 6–8 minutes. Uncover, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 12–15 minutes from the moment the water boils: a knife should slide through a carrot slice without resistance, but the slice should hold its shape.
2. After 10 minutes of cooking, lift out the softened garlic cloves with a spoon and mash with a fork in the bottom of the serving bowl. Reserve 3 tbsp (45 g) of the cooking water in a small bowl.
3. Heat 30 g olive oil in a small saucepan over a low heat for 30 seconds. Add the harissa, cumin and caraway and stir for 30–40 seconds: the paste should sizzle, darken and become fragrant, but never smoke. Turn off the heat and pour in the vinegar, which will splutter, followed by the reserved cooking water and 3 g salt. Pour over the mashed garlic and mix with a fork to make a glossy, deep red dressing that coats the spoon.
4. Drain the carrots in a colander and immediately add them, still hot, to the serving bowl. Toss gently with a spoon to coat without breaking them: the hot carrots will absorb the dressing. Taste: cumin should come first, followed by heat and acidity. Adjust the salt; hot carrots absorb more than you might expect.
5. Leave to stand at room temperature for at least 10 minutes (20 if you have time, or make them the day before for an even better flavour). Toss once more and serve warm, or refrigerate and serve cold, scattered with the olives and capers and drizzled with the final tablespoon of oil.

On your plate

Cooking tips

Keeps for 4 days in a sealed jar in the fridge and improves each day. Double the quantities for the week, using a large 5-litre saucepan or cooking in two batches. For a milder version, replace the vinegar with the juice of half a lemon. Roughly mash the carrots in their dressing with a fork to make omek houria, another Tunisian carrot kemia, served with wedges of hard-boiled egg. For a sweeter result, steam the carrots and garlic for 15–18 minutes instead of boiling them; use 5 g salt in the dressing instead of 3 g and loosen it with water from the steamer.

Equipment : 20 cm saucepan with a lid, small saucepan, colander, chopping board and knife, serving bowl

Tunisian kemia: carrots with harissa, a relative of omek houria, served as a Shabbat starter with mechouia salad and olives.