African Night
Harissa is a staple in North Africa, a hot pepper sauce. You can buy harissa or make your own using fresh hot peppers, oil, and other optional ingredients such as garlic, cumin, red pepper, coriander, etc.
Tonight's meal, Harissa Spiced Sandwich, was inspired by a recipe by Marcus Samuelsson using harissa coated lamb. I used rehydrated textured vegetable protein (TVP) instead of the lamb, but next time will definitely use either tofu or seitan - the TVP retained too much liquid (because of rehydration and being marinated) to crispen properly.
Using tofu (pressed or wrapped) or seitan, coating them with the harissa marinade and then browning them, is totally delicious. The protein is then cooked in a sauce with chickpeas and is then served with hummus and pita. A little extra harissa on the side is nice, too.
Even using the TVP the dish was phenomenal and using solely chickpeas or using tofu or seitan will garner a better result.
Cost Breakdown
TVP (use tofu or seitan instead): $2
tamari, harissa, broth: $1.50
onion, garlic, lemon, spices:
chickpeas: $2
tomato: $1
pita: $1.50
hummus: $1
Total to make 5 servings:
$9.00
