harissa

noun

ha·​ris·​sa hə-ˈri-sə 

: a spicy North African paste made from dried chilies, salt, oil, and other seasonings

Roast chicken slathered in fiery Moroccan harissa is served with a bright orange dollop of carrot purée …

—Margot Dougherty

Examples of harissa in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Don’t have harissa sauce in your cabinet? —Cheyenne Buckingham, SELF, 21 Nov. 2025

Pour lemon harissa sauce over wings; toss until coated. —Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025

The harissa carrots at Safi, Over-the-Rhine Maynard will often drive across town just to savor the harissa roasted carrots at Safi, a Moroccan wine bar opened by chef Jose Salazar in 2024. —Keith Pandolfi, Cincinnati Enquirer, 25 Sep. 2025

That roster includes dishes like foie gras truffle with charred onion jam and a house croissant; a wild boar belly and antelope with pistachio, fermented harissa, and yogurt; and an Asian pear sorbet with aloe sabayon and ginger tapioca. —Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 12 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & North African Arabic; French harissa, borrowed from North African Arabic harīsa "dish of ground meat and bulgur or couscous, paste made from chili peppers and spices," derivative of Arabic harasa "crush, bruise, pound"

First Known Use

1970, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for harissa

• abscissa
• mantissa
• melissa
• disa
• issa
• nyssa