HARISSA, A SPICY and aromatic paste hailing from North Africa, is made from sweet peppers, lively chiles, garlic, and warm spices. Here we paint a mixture of harissa and honey (for sweetness, body, and shine) over pan-seared salmon fillets; the paste’s heat and bright sharpness are great foils for the rich, fatty fish.
A complete meal in one pan was the goal here, and we decided to work through the vegetable components first. Chickpeas and harissa are old friends, and for an additional vegetable, we chose cauliflower, whose nutty, craggy florets are well-suited to take on browning.
To begin, we dressed drained canned chickpeas with shallot, lemon juice, and olive oil and set them aside to marinate. Next, we seasoned cauliflower florets with coriander and cooked them in two stages, starting…
