Tunisian Hsou From Tozeur Recipes

TUNISIAN HARISSA

Steps:

• Remove the stems and seeds from the chile peppers. Soak in cold water for 20 minutes, then drain. Place the peppers, garlic, caraway, coriander, and salt in a mortar; pound with a pestle until smooth. Place harissa in a jar, and cover the top with a little oil to maintain freshness. Store in the refrigerator.

TUNISIAN HSOU FROM TOZEUR

Steps:

• Chop the onion in a food processor until it is finely chopped.
• Chop the celery ribs and garlic in a food processor until they are finely chopped.
• In a thick-bottomed pot, saute the onion in the olive oil. Cook until onions are soft and sweet.
• Stir in tomato paste, harissa, paprika, caraway, and coriander. Season with salt and pepper and stir to mix.
• Add celery and garlic and stir to mix.
• Add 4 cups of water. Stir well. Bring to the boil and simmer 20 minutes.
• Add semolina and stir. Simmer another 10 minutes.
• Scoop out the flesh from the lemon. Chop coarsely and add to soup. Simmer another 5 minutes.

TUNISIAN RAGOUT WITH MERGUEZ

Steps:

• PART 1: Hard-boil the eggs for 10 minutes, slice into 1/4 inch strips, serve as a garnish.
• PART 2: Slice the zucchini into 1/4 inch strips, grill over low heat for 5-10 minutes. They should not be burnt, but should have beautiful char marks from the grill, and should be soft throughout.
• PART 3: Place 3 tbsp olive oil in large saucepan and heat. Place cinnamon, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and garlic powder into the oil and lightly fry for about 10 minutes so that flavors permeate the oil. Keep heat low enough that oil does not smoke.
• Add rice and stir to coat with oil and then immediately add 4 cups water.
• Cover with lid and heat to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, or until water has absorbed and rice is soft and fluffy.
• PART 4: Cut potatoes lengthwise into wedges (8 wedges per potato). Toss in olive oil with salt and pepper. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for 40 minutes.
• PART 5: Chop onion and garlic in food processor until pieces are very small (less than 1/4 inch). Combine with beef, parsley, coriander seed, caraway seeds, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper into a mixing bowl.
• Mix with your hands, then form SMALL sausages by squeezing a small amount of mixture in your hands. Sausages should be about the size of a large thumb.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet until very hot, then brown sausages on all sides. Sausages should be almost completely cooked during this step. Remove and set aside.
• Turn off heat from under skillet, then add tomato paste and water. Heat to a simmer, stirring to mix. Simmer about 5 minutes.
• Return sausages to skillet and continue simmering for 30 minutes.
• Serve as follows: rice on bottom, then sausage and sauce, then alternate zucchini, bell pepper, egg, and lemon on top. Potatoes go on the side, with a little sauce on them as well.

LABLABI -CHICKPEA BREAKFAST STEW(TUNISIA)

Steps:

• Place the chickpeas in a saucepan and cover with water.
• Boil until soft, about 30 minutes, then stir in the harissa, garlic, cumin, and salt.
• Stir well, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 10 minutes.
• Stir in the lemon juice and olive oil.
• Serve with more lemon juice, salt, and ground cumin to taste.
• Serve with any combination and any amount of optional garnishes, including more harissa and olive oil.

SLATA TUNISIYA - TUNISIAN SALAD

Steps:

• Take the seeds out of the tomatoes and green peppers, and dice them so they are all the same size. Cut the onions into quarters, then into very thin slices. Salt it all.
• Cut the mint into tiny pieces, add this to the mix, then add the lemon juice. Mix it all up.
• Put this mix in the middle of a large serving plate or platter. Garnish the plate with lettuce leaves, arranged nicely around the edge of the plate. Garnish also with hard boiled egg, and radish. Slice the tomato at the end of the recipe, and arrange the slices around the edge of the plate, or quarter them, and similarly arrange them.
• Arrange the tuna on top of the vegetables in the center of the plate. Add the feta and scatter the olives around the plate. Drizzle the whole dish with olive oil.
• This should be eaten at room temperature.

TUNISIAN BRIK (ESSENTIAL MEDITERRANEAN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F Metl the butter in a small frying pan and cool the onion over low heat until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes.
• Combine the onion, tuna, capers, parsley and parmesan in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Cut the filo pastry sheets in half widthways. Layer four of the half-sheets together, brushing each with melted butter. Keep the remaining pastry covered with a tamp towel.
• Spoon half the tuna mixture onto one end of the buttered pastry, leaving a border. Made a well in the center of the mixture and carefully break an egg into the well, being careful not to break it. Season with salt and pepper.
• Layer two more sheets of the filo together, brushing with melted butter, and place on top of the tuna and egg. Fold in the pastry sides, then roll into a firm parcel, keeping the egg intact.
• Place on a lightly greased baking tray and brush with melted butter. Repeat with the remaining pastry, filling and egg.
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.
• NOTE: the yolk is still soft after 15 minutes. If you like your eggs firmer, bake for a little longer.

TUNISIAN HARISSA

Steps:

• Cut off the tops of the dried red peppers, and deseed them.
• Soften them in a bowl of water for a half hour, then put them in a colander to drain them a bit.
• Take the skins off the garlic.
• Put them in a blender, add the red peppers, the salt, caraway, coriander, and 1 teaspoon of water.
• Also, add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Blend this until it is like a paste.
• Add olive oil to taste.
• The oil will lessen somewhat the intensity of the spice.

LEBLEBI - TUNISIAN CHICKPEA SOUP

Steps:

• To make the chickpeas, preheat the oven to 115°. Put the soaked prepared chickpeas, stock, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, and extra water to cover the peas by 1", if necessary, into a heavy lidded pot or casserole pot. Bring to a boil, cover and put in oven for about 3 hours, or until fully cooked and silky. Now, you can keep going, or store the soup in the fridge for a day or two, until you're ready to go. When you are ready you can make it all (serves 8) or a bit now, and more later. If you have refrigerated it, you can easily remove the fat from the top.
• When you are ready to eat, reheat the chickpeas in their liquid, while you prepare the eggs. Fill a bowl with ice water. For each bowl of soup, put one egg in a pan of not quite boiling water. Cover pan and turn off the heat. After 6 minutes, slip the eggs into the ice water to cool. Once they ar cool, peel them carefully, leaving the medium cooked eggs whole. This is a little bit fidlely but worth the effort after coming so far, or a runny boiled/fried egg can do the job too!
• Put some stale bread in the bottom of each bowl, and cover with a portion of chickpeas and their cooking liquid. Set an egg on top of each bowl, and cut it so that the yolk runs. Dribble some harissa sauce over each and sprinkle with cumin and freshly ground pepper. Top with olives, capers, and diced bell pepper. Dribble on a bit of olive oil, and squeeze the lemon wedge over all.
• This is a satisfying, belly-warming, invigorating soup, to cure you if you are both tired and hungry. But don't substitute for those chickpeas!
• Serve with a Sangiovese.