Tunisian Cuisine

[Dover]

Traditional Tunisian Dishes

Like all countries in the Mediterranean basin, Tunisia offers a "sun cuisine," based mainly on olive oil, spices, tomatoes, seafood (a wide range of fish) and meat from rearing (lamb).

Like in the rest of North Africa, couscous is served on all occasions. It is traditionally eaten with lamb, the semolina must be very fine, and the vegetables (carrots, little white cabbages, turnips, chick peas) only lightly cooked. Depending on the season, the vegetables change: there may also be cardoons, cold broad beans, or pumpkin.

Couscous can also be made with chicken or fish or osben, a kind of round sausage made with tripe and various herbs. Different spices are found depending on the region, like cinnamon (kerfa) or dried and crushed rose buds (chouch el ward)...cont'd

http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/tunisia/traditional.html





Vegetable Cous-Cous
Serves 6

1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 zucchini or yellow squash, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 roasted and peeled red bell peppers, sliced
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cups instant cous cous
2 cups chicken broth
2 small tomatoes, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 16-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or fresh-cooked chickpeas
Salt and pepper

Sauté the onions and zucchini in the oil until just barely soft. Stir in the peppers and mushrooms. Cook until all vegetables are cooked but still firm.

Heat the chicken broth is a saucepan until boiling. Remove from heat and stir in the cous cous. Let the mixture sit 5-7 minutes then fluff with a fork.

In a large bowl, pour in the cous cous, then toss with the tomatoes, chickpeas, balsamic vineger. Stir in the vegetables and their juices. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.

http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/tunisia/couscous.html


Tunisian Couscous

Ingredients

•1/2 tbsp paprika .
•1/2 tbsp cinnamon .
•2 potatoes .
•1 large zucchini, cubed .
•14 oz chickpeas .
•2 tbsps olive oil .
•1/2 tbsp cumin .
•1 tbsp chili paste or harissa .
•2 c uncooked couscous .
•1 large onion, cubed .
•1 large green pepper, cubed .
•4 tbsps tomato paste .
•1 tsp salt & pepper .
•2 carrots

Directions

•Step #1 Saute onion & olive oil in a saucepan over med-heat/flame.
•Step #2 Add tomato paste, chickpeas, & 1 c of water, & allow to boil for 15 mins.
•Step #3 Cut vegetables, place them into pot, add 4 1/4 c of water, & bring to a boil.
•Step #4 Allow to cook for 30-45 mins, or until veggies are cooked.
•Step #5 To prepare couscous, place it into a collander or sifter, replacing about 1 c water with tomato sauce.
•Step #6 (NOTE: I used couscous that only needed to sit in hot water for 5 mins to cook.
•Step #7 When doing so, I used 1 c water & 1 c of the sauce).
•Step #8 Place couscous In a large-ish bowl, pour some of the sauce over it, & arrange vegetables on top.
•Enjoy the Tunisian Couscous recipe


Tunisian Cuisine Wiki
http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Tunisian_Cuisine


Online store for authentic Tunisian foods:
http://tunisiancuisinestore.googlepages.com/

Info about Red Mullet:
http://www.chow.com/ingredients/536

Preferred Cookware for Couscous: Couscousiere
http://www.creativecookware.com/couscousieres.htm?gclid=CL66tcPAyJ4CFSWjagodQy0cqg




Other equipment:
http://www.treasuresofmorocco.com/moroccan-tagine-cookware-couscousier-moroccan-couscousier-c-22_95.html

[hippywife]

1. Hiya, Dover.

Step 5 in that second recipe is missing some info, I think. I'm a tad confused. How can you put liquid in a colander or sifter?

Flavors sound good, tho, and I'm always looking for new veggie dishes that might be interesting.

:hi:

[Dover]

2. Hi Hippywife. Good question!

Unless the collander is either sitting inside a bowl or pot (like the couscousier). Need a video!

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=making%20couscous&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wv#q=making+couscous&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wv&qvid=making+couscous&vid=-7238551749298032285

[Tab]

3. I like these side cuisines

I wish I lived where I had access to more.

Nepalese is very good - a modified Indian, but really a cuisine and flavoring all its own and you wouldn't mistake it for Indian, just would see its roots.

Afghani is quite good too. I'm guessing closer to this cuisine than others. Alas, no Tunesian cuisine restaurants around here. :(

Thanks for the insights.

- Tab

[Dover]

4. Oooooo...Afghan? I love trying authentic ethnic foods.

It's hard to find good ethnic restaurants who haven't modified their traditional recipes too much to accomodate American tastes. Where have
you had the Afghan foods? Sounds like your taste buds can pick up the
subtle differences. I've never seen an Afghan restaurant, but have found some authentic Ethiopian food which was wonderful.
Also tough to learn to cook authentically even with a recipe because the
spices and other ingredients can be so foreign and one's taste buds aren't
experienced in the cuisine to know what to taste for. Videos are helpful,
but learning it from someone who has grown up inside a culture is the best
way...short of living in a foreign country for awhile.

[Tab]

5. It was in Cambridge, MA

Best food was the Kaddo, an appetizer, with meat sauce, that was melted squash with brown sugar and olive oil, and sooooo goddamn good. I've made it at home (they publish the recipe) although I didn't bother with the meat part. Yummy, and quick to make. Everything else was good too.

[Dover]

6. Lucky you to have found that restaurant! The kaddo sounds great.

Can you post the recipe? I'd love to try it.

I just devoured an amazing lamb stew with red kuri squash that I posted here around Halloween (actually I combined the two kuri squash recipes together). I used lamb stew meat chunks and prepared it in a pressure cooker so the meat is really tender and the flavors are blended so well.
I skipped some things like the raisins, nuts and beans. Those herbs and spices (cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, sage, cardamom, ginger etc.) are so warming and deeeeelicious! I used a little maple syrup as a sweetener. I'm in heaven!

[Tab]

7. Kaddo

Kaddo browrani

2 pounds small eating pumpkins
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup plain yogurt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup canola oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup water

Set the oven at 350 degrees.

Cut the pumpkin into chunks. Remove the seeds and strings, peel the skin, then slice the flesh into 2-inch pieces.

In medium skillet, heat the oil and brown pumpkin pieces, turning frequently, for 5 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Transfer the pumpkin to a roasting pan. Sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon. Cover with foil and bake the pumpkin for 30 minutes or until it is tender.

For the yogurt sauce: In a bowl, stir together the yogurt, 1 clove of the garlic, and salt. Set the sauce aside.

For the meat sauce: In a skillet, heat the oil and cook the onions until lightly browned. Add the beef, the remaining clove of garlic, salt, and pepper and stir well. Add the tomato sauce and water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes or until it cooks down to a thick sauce.

To serve: Spoon yogurt sauce onto each of 4 dinner plates. Add a wedge of pumpkin and ladle the meat sauce on top. Serves 4.

[Dover]

8. Thank you, thank you, thank you!...n/t

[tigereye]

9. mm, now I'm hungry again!

[EFerrari]

10. Does anyone have a guess about what kind of "chile flakes" go in harissa?

I want to try the veggie couscous. It sounds really good!

Harissa

When the harissa paste is passed around, use this traditional Tunisian blend with extreme caution, the key ingredient being an abundance of chili. Harissa is made with dried chilies as their complexity of flavor is more appropriate than fresh ones. To make harissa paste, blend the following ingredients then crush in a pestle and mortar until a thick paste is formed:


3-1/3 tbsp (50 mL) dried chili flakes,
soaked in the same amount of hot water
1-2/3 tbsp (25 mL) crushed garlic
1-2/3 tbsp (25 mL) sweet paprika
2 tsp (10 mL) each of caraway seed and coriander seed
1 tsp (5 mL) of cumin seeds, dry roasted then ground
1 tsp (5 mL) of salt
6 spearmint leaves finely chopped

[Dover]

11. Not 100% sure, but one recipe I've seen calls for a blend of hot chili peppers

For a very spicy harissa: use a blend of cayenne, chile de arbol, or cayenne with a milder chile like ancho chilies

For a medium spiciness: use a blend of New Mexico chilies with guajillo chilies.

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dipsandsauces/r/harissa.htm

[EFerrari]

12. Thanks, Dover.

:)

[Dover]

13. Traditional Couscous (using a couscousiere pot)

COUSCOUS the authentic way

Ingredients
Couscous: National dish, granular semolina pasta, which is steamed over a pan of stewing vegetables, spices, garbanzo beans, and meat. The ingredients are combined and served as a main dish--the staple of the Moroccan diet. It should be mentioned that the preparation of couscous varies from one region to the other. Couscous is a rolled wheat pasta and makes a great substitute for rice or potatoes. It is a well known, typically Moroccan dish and is simple to prepare. The word couscous refers to the raw ingredient as well as to the prepared basic dish (described below). Couscous is served with a sauce, and often topped with a spicy oil and pepper mixture called Harissa. The most wonderful thing about couscous is the way it absorbs the flavor of the sauce. This, as well as its lightness and porous texture make it an ideal choice for sauces. Outlined below is the basic recipe for plain couscous. Look up a specific sauce recipe to cook with the couscous.

Traditional Couscous with lamb and vegetables

In Morocco where couscous is a staple, a couscoussier is used to cook the dish. It is a two-part, barrel-like vessel. The large bottom pot holds a stew, and as the stew simmers it steams the couscous in the top perforated insert.

In Morocco, most couscous is meat-based, and the couscous steams for 45 minutes or more while the meat tenderizes. Vegetable stews cook much more quickly, not allowing enough time for the couscous to cook to melt-in-your-mouth consistency. Traditional couscous, before it goes into the couscousier, is handled in a special way. This involves moistening and drying, steaming, drying and re-steaming. This takes some time: a little more than an hour. The finished product is fluffy.

4 cups couscous
3 cups water.

Set couscous in a large bowl. Lightly oil your hands and work grains, Spread couscous grain than pour 2 quarts water over it and leave them to swell for 10 minutes. Lightly oil your hands and work grains rubbing them through your fingertips, to keep them separate rub couscous between your wet hands to break up lumps. Let stand another 10 minutes.

Put water in the pot of the couscoussier. There should be ample liquid in bottom of pot but it should not come too close to bottom of steaming basket. When the liquid comes to a boil, slowly dribble 1/2 of the swollen couscous into steamer, forming them into a mound. Steam over low heat, uncovered as soon as the steam escapes, count, 20 minutes of cooking. The steam must escape only from the couscous. Remove the top of the couscousier (if the liquid in the bottom seems low, add some more water) and dump the couscous into a large shallow pan and spread it out with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the couscous with 1soup cup of cold water slightly salty over the couscous. Lightly oil hands; rework grains, breaking up any lumps break up lumps by lifting couscous and stirring the grains. Dry for 10 minutes. Return the dried couscous to the top of the couscousier. Steam uncovered for 20 minutes more. Put back the couscous a third time in the high of couscoussier and 5 minutes after exhaust of the steam, shell the couscous again. Add 1 or 2 pats butter if desired .Can do in advance up to this point and keep until the final steaming with a damp cloth over top.

Bouillon:

2 pounds lamb shoulder
2 onions
250 g of chickpea soaked the day before
150 g of butter
1 pinch of saffron
1 coffee spoonful of pepper
Salt
1 teaspoon of ginger
6 liters of water
1 pound package of instant couscous
1 pd of peeled tomatoes
1 pd of little peeled turnips
4 peeled carrots cut in length
4 small turnips quartered
1 pound pumpkin
1 small head cabbage, quartered
4 zucchini, unpeeled, quartered
Coriander
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup butter
1/4-cup raisins plumbed in water with orange blossom and drained.

Preparation:

Wash and drain carefully the cut meat in pieces. Heat the oil and brown the lamb on all sides for 5 minutes. Add the onions, and cook another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, the cilantro, the chickpeas, the saffron, the pepper, the salt, and the water and put on quick fire. Cook covered for 15 minutes.

Withdraw the heart of cabbage in him incising deeply with a pointed knife the hoary cabbage,

Add to the boiling the other minced onions, tomatoes, turnips, carrots.

As soon as the soup is again in boiling point, redo the previous operation with the couscous but this time in replacing the water by the oil of olives.

Presentation:

Dispose the couscous in cone in a big dish, dig a crater to the center, there place the meat and the vegetables, water of soup and let to absorb. Serving the surplus of soup in some bowls so that every one will be able to serve him.

----

[Dover]

14. Just made this tonight and got creative

I took some liberties with the ingredients but mostly followed the recipe in the op (the first one).

And I don't own a couscousiere, but found something that works great. First I made a whole box of couscous using the box instructions (very quick). Instead of using just water I used half water/half chicken broth. After it was done I plumped it up and added butter and let it sit a minute. It was fluffly but still a little dry by Tunisian standards which is fine as I knew that would soon change.

I had already begun the stew in my wide Everyday Pan (12") (similar to a wok but with a flat bottom) which has a domed glass lid. It is just tall enough to allow me to put one of those lotus leaf type veggie steamers that fold down and have feet that are about an inch and a half tall. Just tall enough to clear the stew below it. So I placed it in the stew pot and then loaded it up with the cooked couscous and let it steam there until the soup was done (about 45 minutes). What's wonderful about the couscousiere and this makeshift version is that it allows the couscous to continue to soften while absorbing all the flavors of the soup below it. It really works! And there are no words to describe how delicious this meal was. In fact it was so good I know I'm now obligated to make it OFTEN.