A salted onion and dried-chilli paste fermented for weeks and used like a stock cube. It is a southern Tunisian household preserve from Gabès and Djerba, matured in jars under oil.
It is a heavily salted vegetable ferment matured for months under an oil seal at ambient temperature, and the salt ratio that keeps a low-acid paste safe under oil is set by long practice rather than measurement.
What goes into it
- onions
- dried red chillies
- coarse salt, in quantity
- coriander and caraway
- olive oil
How it is made
Onions are salted heavily and left to draw and sour for weeks, sometimes sun-dried between stages, then pounded with dried chilli and spices into a dense dark paste. That paste is packed into jars under a seal of olive oil and matured for months, and a spoonful goes into a pot at a time.
How long it takes: weeks of salting and fermenting, then months under oil
How it is eaten
A spoonful stirred into couscous broth, soups and stews.
History
A southern Tunisian household preserve from Gabes and Djerba: onions and peppers are salted, sun-dried and pounded, then matured in jars under oil.
Frequently asked questions
What is Hrous?
Hrous is a fermented & pickled from Tunisia: salted onion and dried-chili paste fermented for weeks, used like a stock. A southern Tunisian household preserve from Gabes and Djerba: onions and peppers are salted, sun-dried and pounded, then matured in jars under oil.
How is Hrous made?
Onions are salted heavily and left to draw and sour for weeks, sometimes sun-dried between stages, then pounded with dried chilli and spices into a dense dark paste. That paste is packed into jars under a seal of olive oil and matured for months, and a spoonful goes into a pot at a time. It takes weeks of salting and fermenting, then months under oil.
Can I make Hrous at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is a heavily salted vegetable ferment matured for months under an oil seal at ambient temperature, and the salt ratio that keeps a low-acid paste safe under oil is set by long practice rather than measurement.
What goes into Hrous?
Onions, dried red chillies, coarse salt, in quantity, coriander and caraway, olive oil.
How is Hrous eaten?
A spoonful stirred into couscous broth, soups and stews.
