I assume this is to make hi feel at home if that is the caseyou can have a tab at the dish that most North africans complain about when they are in other countries and that is cous cous which is also the national dish of Tunisia. However please hold in mind that their is a different between good cous cous and bad cous cous (the most common issue is that the couse cous becoes to wet at the bottom and there is the delicate balance ofhaving it moist but not to wet that is becomes stodgy.
I have had a look around and if your feeling brave I have the following for you which although obvious is somthing that will make a travelling tunisian at least thing that you have done some reseach and doesn;t take too much effort.
Starter
Get some very fresh baguette and cut into small pices and place into a bowl.
Then get some Harrissa which should be around any North african food store if not.
3 ounces mild and hot chilies, dried mixture of anchos, New Mexican and guajillos
1 clove garlic, crushed with salt
1/4 teaspoon salt, for above
1 teaspoon coriander, ground
1 teaspoon caraway seed -- ground
1 red bell pepper -- roasted
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
olive oil
Stem Seed and break up chilies. Place in a bowl and pour over boiling water.
Cover and let stand 30 minutes. Drain; wrap in cheeseclothe and press out
excesss moisture. Do the same for the red Bell Pepper. Grind chilies in food
processor with garlic spices, red bell pepper, and salt. Add enough oil to
make a thick paste. Pack the mixture in a small dry jar; cover the harissa
with a thin layer of oil, close th with a lid and keep refrigerated. Will
keep 2 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator with a thin layer of oil.
Once you have this done and you rady to go get a small place and then open a can of tuna. Drain the can ot tunia and then place the tuna on this plate. Then get a nice sized sponnful of the harissa and place it on the tuna and then with a fork mash it up a little then pour a little extra virgin (the better the better) olive oil over this.
If your really hungry it would also be nice to have some Salad michwiya
VEGETABLES
2 red bell peppers
2 green bell peppers
1 serrano or jalape-o chile
2 medium tomatoes
1 medium Vidalia onion, quartered
DRESSING
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
GARNISHES
4 hard-cooked eggs, quartered
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, halved
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley
To make two hard-boiled eggs and to cut them in sections. To make roast with the furnace tomatos, sweet peppers and onion, turn over vegetables on several occasions and once cooked, wash them, them peel, the skin, cut them in small pieces, add garlic, salt, the caraway.
To serve salad in a dish, to sprinkle with oil, to put olives, the pieces of tuna, and the hard-boiled egg.
You can also put some harrissa in this to make it hot also which is the tunisian style. Make a lot and keep it in a jar.
COUS COUS
Serves 10. Preparation time is 20 minutes; cooking, 2
hours. Meat and vegetables for the Couscous. Soak 1 cup chick
peas overnight in water to cover. Meat: Use any of the
following combinations, or make up your own. Cut meat into
pieces (except chicken):
1.81KG. lamb from neck, shoulderor flank
1.81KG. combination of lamb, beef and veal
900g. lamb and 1 large chicken
1 large or 2 small chickens
1 to 2 soup bones (more than one type of meat make the broth even better)
Vegetables: The following mixture is typical, but you
may make your own choice according to personal taste and seasonal availability:
230kg. carrots, peeled and halved
230kg. turnips, peeled and halved
450g. pumpkin, cu
2 large sweet red peppers
2 large onions
4 medium tomatoes
1 small hot pepper
3 tbs. fresh lemon juice
3 tbs olive oil
1 tsp.oregano
1 (7 oz.) can of tuna
2 oz. crumbled feta cheese
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
Grill the peppers, tomatoes and onions in a hot oven approximately 400 degrees. Turn them once during this process. Grill them until they are soft.
Remove from oven and cool.
Remove the seeds from the peppers. Dice all of the cooked vegetables into small pieces. Place the vegetables on a flat serving platter. Stir in gently the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano and the salt and pepper.
Best way to eat: spread the tuna and hard boiled eggs over top.
Tunisian carrot salad (Salatit Omik Houria)
1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
3 Tbs olive oil
2 1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup water
3 Tbs white wine vinegar
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Cook carrots in medium saucepan of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Drain well. Stir oil, cumin and cayenne in heavy large skillet over medium heat until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add carrots, then 1/2 cup water and vinegar. Simmer over medium heat until liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Cool. Mix in cilantro. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
This site has 5 Tunisian dishes which includes fish fillets with harissa & olives, coucous, maacouda potatoes & maasems (fatimas little fingers). I have only tried to make one of the above dishes & it turned out quite good & the instructions were straight forward.
I think you may be spoilt for choice with all the lovely different suggestions by other members, they sound delicious!
Hello,
My husband is from Ben Arous, and I have been to Tunisia several times to learn how to cook. The main dish in this area is cous cous, although harisa is not really featured in this dish, the slata mechouia is the best thing to feature the harisa. Most Tunisians prefer slata mechouia with grilled lamb, but any grilled meat will do. Macrona is another main dish that is sooooo yummy with lots of harisa. Its is the basic tunisian spices with tomato paste and bay leaves and chick peas and meat, when you make this sauce you can use any pasta but the ditalini pasta is best and serve it with hot peppers cooked in the sauce. He will love your efforts! They really take pride in their food!
Guys, any idea what i need to make zgougou?? Cant seem to find a recipe in english and some sites are saying you need little black pine seeds that you can only get in tunisia? Need help with this one please
I have posted the best link i could find to my assida entry on the blog (use google translate).
I am working on improving site generally and a recipie section in incoming. I just have to get this new website design done and port the information over to it and then it will be full speed ahead.
cool thanks, i seen that but didnt think of google translate My hubby was feeling left out of his familys celebrations last week cos he didnt have any.
Kris, I also translated another similar recipe just to see what the differences were. For the "pastry cream" you have to place the container on a fire of lice - I think my hubby can wait till he next goes home before he gets some zgougou
Thanks Sam, one little question open to anyone - what "papers" do you use to make brik? I was using filo pastry which does the trick but my hubby insists its nicer with the real "papers" as he calls it. Maybe its just my cooking
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