Joanna James
The sprawling capital city Tunis has so much to offer its tourists, among which is its delectable traditional dishes, making for an unmissable experience for both foodies and non-foodies. Treat yourself to an assortment of local dishes and savour the mouth-watering tastes of Tunis.
It is a Friday in Tunis, and nothing says a truly authentic Tunisian meal like a bowl of couscous, which usually comes to life at lunch on Fridays — the most important meal of the week where families get together to enjoy. A dish of couscous is tiny steamed granules of rolled durum wheat semolina arranged to form a pyramid, with a base of stew, and topped with grams, onions, tomatoes, plums and a few large stripes of carrot and courgette in the shape of a star. The dish has its roots deeply embedded in Morocco and Algeria but is a local favourite in Tunis as well as in other parts of Tunisia.
Flaky dough stuffed with a savoury filling — a mouthful of satisfying brik is just what you want when you are out, exploring and soaking up Tunis. Brik or Tunisian brik is a local delicacy and appetiser, which in its basic form, is a deep-fried filo pastry with a savoury filling — usually tuna with a raw egg placed on top of the filling. The pockets are filled with stuffing, carefully folded and fried deep in oil until it develops a shiny and slightly crispy texture.
A simple yet incredibly flavourful traditional dish, Kafteji is a combination of a whole host of vegetables, such as potatoes, tomatoes, green peppers, pumpkins, and zucchini, all roughly cut and fried with eggs and the dish's primary ingredient, fried lamb liver, and finally topped by a sprinkling of parsley or coriander. While kafteji could be perfectly relished as a main dish as it is, locals also enjoy it as an accompaniment to poultry and fish.
Spicy, cheap, and quick to prepare, lablabi is a staple not just in Tunis but all throughout Tunisia. The famous chickpea soup, besides its primary ingredient, chickpea, is traditionally flavoured with garlic, cumin, and harissa (a traditional spicy paste), but thanks to its wide popularity, a few different versions to the dish have emerged, employing the addition of various ingredients, such as capers, olives, pickled vegetables, tuna and quite surprisingly, cow's hooves.
The Fricassee in Tunis is often confused with the widely popular chicken Fricassee, the traditional French chicken stew, but the two Fricassees are nothing like each other except for the fact they share the same name. The Tunisian Fricassee is a baguette-like sandwich comprising a deep-fried stick of bread with a filling of tuna, hummus, boiled eggs, capers, olives, harissa, and boiled potatoes. This local delicacy could be found almost everywhere from street food stalls to cafes and the best restaurants in Tunis, including the likes offered by The Residence Tunis.
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