A Taste of Tunisia

When  I think of Tunisian food I always think about the movie 'Cous Cous' or  Le Graine et le Mulet.

Film still from http://www.filmsufi.com/2018/11/the-secret-of-grain-abdellatif-kechiche.html

  This is the movie that really taught me how to prepare cous cous (steamed over your vegetable stew and getting heady with the spicing).  The recipe is taken from the film but I have just created a vegetarian/vegan version.

Cous Cous with Chickpeas, Salade Mechouia and olives

Cous Cous with Chickpeas

Couple handfuls of chickpeas (pre-cooked)
1 pepper ( I used a fabulous orange pepper that tasted just great)
1 onion halfed and sliced thinly
1 garlic clove (finely chopped)
2/3 potatoes (Cubes)
1/2 carrots (quartered)
1 courgette (cut into chunks)
1 chilli pepper (finely chopped)

100g couscous (I half fill a pasta dish with couscous which works out right for 1/2 people)
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp ground cayenne or chilli pepper
1 tbsp cumin (seeds)
1 tbsp cumin (ground)
Olive oil
Seasoning

(serves 2)

1. Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan and fry the onion until golden.
2. Add the garlic and cook off for around 30 seconds.
3. Meanwhile to prepare the couscous soak it. I usually put a layer of couscous in the bottom of a pasta bowl and pour boiling water over it so that there is about double quantities of water to couscous (like rice making). Let it sit and swell in the dish.
4. Back with the vegetable sauce - add the cumin seeds to the saucepan to bring out that cumin taste, and the cayenne/chilli.
5. Add the fresh chilli (dependent on taste you can vary the quantities of cayenne and chilli.
6. Add the tomato puree and let it cook for 5 minutes.
7. Slowly add some water to the mix.... 1/2 litre to 3/4. Stir throughly.
8. Add the chick peas, the carrots peeled and quartered and the pototoes (cubes).
9. Once the couscous has soaked up much of the water pour it into a colander/steamer and place over the simmering sauce to steam the cous cous - this will make the cous cous even more light and fluffy.
10. I steamed the couscous for a good 10/15 minutes before taking it off the heat and fluffing it with a fork.
11. Add the rest of vegetables and continue to cook until soft.
12. Put the couscous back into the colander and reheat over the sauce. Flavour the sauce and the couscous with the ground cumin.
13. To serve place the couscous in a large serving bowl and mix in the sauce - gently folding in the mixture. The couscous should soak up the sauce and turn a luscious red colour. Flavour with pepper and salt if you wish. Enjoy!

Salade Mechouia

Salade Mechouia is a traditional Tunisian salad of grilled peppers, tomatoes and garlic with some aromatics; usually served with hard boiled eggs and tuna... this I omitted.

2 large green peppers
2 tomatoes
1 large clove garlic
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp of ground caraway seed
Juice of 1/2 small lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 olives pitted
salt

1. Wash the peppers and tomatoes.
2. On a medium skillet or held over the flames of a gas hob lightly char the peppers.
3. In a frying pans char the tomatoes and garlic.
4. Let the peppers, tomatoes and garlic cool and then peel.
5. De-seed the peppers and tomatoes.
6. Mash the garlic clove with the flat side of the knife.
7. Place the peeled peppers, tomatoes and garlic in a food processor and add the coriander, caraway and lemon juice. Pulse 5-8 time until the vegetables are well-minced but not a smooth puree.
8. If you do not have a food processor you can finely dice the vegetables; the consistency should be like above.
9. Garnish with the olives and serve with your cous cous.