Tag Archives: Side Dish

Ommok Houria – Tunisian Carrot Puree

31 Mar

Ommok Houria - TunisianA really easy and nice way to make carrots interesting, even people who don’t like carrots will love this recipe. I also tried this with pumpkin and it was heavenly.

Ingredients
bunch of carrots
salt
olive oil
½ tsp ground cumin
lemon juice
1 garlic clove
freshly ground pepper

Method
Cook the carrots in salted water until tender. Drain and mash the carrots. Add a couple of table spoons of olive oil, mince the garlic, add freshly ground black pepper and stir. Add a couple of drops of lemon juice, taste and add more if needed. Serve along with meat, French bread and a green salad.

Tunisian Tomato Sauce

30 Mar

The perfect accompaniment for lamb cutlets, fish or chicken.

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp Tabil
¼ tsp dried rosemary
half a cup of water

Method
Chop the tomatoes into big pieces, if you prefer you can remove the skins. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the tomatoes. After about 3 minutes add the rosemary, minced garlic, salt & pepper and water. Slowly let the sauce cook until it is thicker and most of the water is gone.

Tunisian Keftagi

17 Mar

Keftagi - TunisianThis a great vegetable dish that can be served as a side dish or even fill a baguette. The quantities are not precise, just adjust to your own taste, and don’t be afraid to experiment. If you like it spicy add a few chilli’s to heat it up, or add some harissa. This will keep well in the fridge for at least a couple of days. The original recipe calls for a fried egg, but as I am not an egg lover I prefer not to add that.

Ingredients
salt
olive oil
5 potatoes
pumpkin, same quantity to potatoes
2 zucchini’s
2 egg plants
2 red bell peppers, cut into quarters
1 finely diced onion
5 tomatoes
5 garlic cloves
2 tsp tabil spice mix
fresh ground black pepper
flat parsley
(1 egg- optional)

Method:
Heat a good quantity of olive oil in a heavy fry pan, about 3 cm. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes, place into a colander and spread salt over them. When the oil is warm enough fry the potatoes until golden brown. Place the fried vegetables into a big bowl. The same is required for the rest of the vegetables in the following order: pumpkin, zucchini and eggplant. Once this is done you can fry off the bell peppers, be careful as the skin will burst.

Cut the tops of the tomatoes and make several cuts in the top of the tomato. Season the tomatoes with the Tabil spice blend, slice the garlic and divide over the tomatoes, push the pieces into the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes into the oil and fry off, until the skin is easy to remove, also add the onion towards the end.

Remove the skins of the tomatoes and red bell pepers. Next sprinkle over the chopped parsley over the vegetables. Now with two sharp knives, on in each hand, you cut the vegetables into small pieces by letting the knives cross over. Make sure  your bowl will not tipp over. Serve as suggested.