Driving home recently I passed a restaurant my husband and I have enjoyed over the years. I reminisced “the special dish” I often ordered; a perfectly cooked fried egg (white: hard — yolk: runny) that lay in the center of a mound of steamy white rice served with a side of fiery, spicy red sauce. The trio was an unusual complementing combination of flavors and textures I’ve often thought of duplicating.

A comforting, fiery-tasting dish was just the kind of food I longed to eat after jury duty. Upon returning home I decided to create a version of “the special dish” using foods commonly served in Morocco. Couscous is a staple in Moroccan cuisine. To give my creation an authentic Moroccan flavor, I whipped together a recipe for Harissa, one of Morocco’s most popular sauces.