Spice, Memory and Migration: the History of Tunisia's "Red Gold"

By Ella Schonberger

Pounded with fresh garlic, fruity olive oil, salt, and spices, jewel-red Baklouti peppers transform into a thick paste that perfumes the air and ignites unsuspecting mouths. This is harissa - the Maghreb’s reigning condiment. A fixture at every kitchen table, its abundant use in Tunisian cooking has contributed to the affectionate nickname “The Red Cuisine”, with harissa and tomatoes infusing dishes with a roaring heat and bright red color. Here in the U.S it has become increasingly popular—and for good reason. 

Available in most grocery stores and online, brands like Tunisian-American Zwita, as well as New York Shuk, Sadaf, Mina, Villa Jerada, Le Pain Quotidien and even Trader Joes carry this delicacy.  Interestingly, the Harissa we enjoy today is a relatively new thread in the rich tapestry that is Tunisian cuisine.

The name “Harissa” comes from the Arabic verb “Harassa” (to crush). The earliest recorded dish “Harissa” refers to a 7th century porridge-like dish of pounded grain, spices and meat. Any heat in this recipe would have come from an abundance of expensive ground peppercorns. Now-indispensabile chilli peppers were grown oceans away, and required a boom in international trade and the forced resettlement of entire communities to end up in the rich soils of Cap Bon. 

Chili peppers (Capsicum) are native to the Americas; first cultivated 6000 years ago and revered by the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans. To this day, these spicy berries remain a staple in Indigenous foodways throughout North and South America. So how did they end up in Tunisia, halfway across the world? In 1492 violent waves of European conquest and colonialism carried this New World crop across the Atlantic, making its way into Mediterranean kitchens through the Columbian Exchange. In Andalusia, Spain these piquant peppers became popular in the courtly kitchens of Abbasid Dynasty, crowning dishes for royalty with a blooming heat, while also traveling to Spanish and Portuguese colonies throughout Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. From the 12th-16th centuries waves of Andalusian Muslims and Jews fled the collapse of the Abbasid dynasty and the rising tide of religious persecution in Iberia. 

Under the rule of the house of Trastámara - most infamously Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand the “Catholic Monarchs” - Spain unleashed the Inquisition, a brutal campaign of forced conversions, expulsions, and executions aimed at eradicating all non-Catholic life and culture. Muslims, Jews, and Roma peoples of various provinces were persecuted, forcing entire communities to go into hiding or flee. Carrying memories, seeds, and recipes in exile, many found safe haven in Cap Bon under the welcoming rule of Uthmen Dey, the Ottoman ruler of Tunisia. 

The unique microclimate and rich soils of the Cap Bon region echoed that of Andalusia - an ideal environment for chilli peppers to thrive. In Nabeul women gathered together to combine sundried spicy Andalusian peppers with seasonings and olive oil popular in local grain porridge, and created a bold new sauce. Their shared need to nourish their families—and to enjoy the food they created—transcended cultural differences. Harissa, as we know it today, emerged from both exodus and unity: the result of rich collaboration among immigrant Andalusian Jews, Muslims, and local Tunisians of Amazigh (Berber), Arab, and Italian descent, living and working side by side. Their interwoven culinary traditions gave rise to this beloved condiment, which soon spread across Tunisia and throughout the Maghreb to become the culinary staple we know and love today. 

In 2022, Tunisian harissa was honored by being added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity—a recognition that celebrates its cultural significance and deep roots in Tunisian tradition. Inspired by Harissa’s rich history we created our own Tunisian-American harissa recipe for the upcoming Community Cookbook using locally available chili peppers, carefully tested and refined by members of the Shakshuka community to ensure only the most delicious final result. This mouth-watering recipe can be found in the next blog post! Now, we invite our lovely Shakshuka community to join the conversation in the comments: where do you find your favorite brand of harissa in the U.S., and what memories does that first taste of harissa carry?

This post marks the first of many in my new food blog as Shakshuka’s culinary historian and recipe tester, where I’ll be gathering stories and dishes for our upcoming community cookbook. I invite all community members to share the stories, memories, and recipes you would like to see celebrated and carried forward in our upcoming cookbook—a living testament to the vibrant spirit and heritage of the Tunisian American community. Feel free to share your contributions in the comments below or reach out to me directly via email at ella@shakshuka.org. Together, we’ll explore the flavors, memories, and cultural roots behind the recipes that unite the Shakshuka community. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has already shared their beloved family recipes and trusted me with adapting them for our upcoming book. I can't wait to celebrate these flavors and traditions together!

Sources + Further Reading:

1.  Abun-Nasr, Jamil. A History of the Maghrib. 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, 1977.

2. Arem, Mansour. "The True Story of Harissa." Zwïta, 19 Oct. 2020, https://zwitafoods.com/blogs/news/the-true-story-of-harissa.

3. Carthage Magazine. "El Oula: Preserving Summer’s Harvest in Tunisia." Carthage Magazine, 9 Aug. 2021, https://carthagemagazine.com/el-oula-preserving-summers-harvest-in-tunisia/.

4. Chennoufi, Leila. Interview by Ella Schonberger. 10 Oct. 2024.

5. Cotonou, Chris. "The Hunt for the Best Harissa." Financial Times, 18 Aug. 2024, https://www.ft.com/content/26bcbf52-06a2-47fe-90d5-cc639293421a.

6. Elkamel, S., et al. "Insights into the Middle Eastern Paternal Genetic Pool in Tunisia: High Prevalence of T-M70 Haplogroup in an Arab Population." Scientific Reports, vol. 11, no. 1, 3 Aug. 2021, p. 15728. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95144-x.

7. Klein, H. Richard. Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500–1800. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.

8. Malouf, Greg. From Artichokes to Za'taar: Modern Middle Eastern Food. Hardie Grant, 2010.

9. Nunn, Nathan, and Nancy Qian. "The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas." The Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 24, no. 2, 2010, pp. 163–88. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25703506. Accessed 1 May 2025.

10. Perry, Linda, and Kent V. Flannery. "Precolumbian Use of Chili Peppers in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 104, no. 29, 2007, pp. 11905–09. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0704936104.

11. UNESCO. "Harissa, Knowledge, Skills and Culinary and Social Practices (Tunisia)." Intangible Cultural Heritage, 2022, https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/harissa-knowledge-skills-and-culinary-and-social-practices-01710.