harissa

Because of France’s long involvement in North Africa and its millions of citizens of North African origin, couscous was one of the first foreign dishes wholeheartedly adopted by the French.

And you can’t have couscous without spicy harissa sauce, made with dried baklouti chilis, garlic, salt, oil and spices (coriander, caraway, and/or cumin). It’s sold in tubes and cartons in every supermarket; creative chefs have adopted it as an ingredient in other dishes as well.