Tunisia is one of the Muslim countries of North Africa, the keeper of the ruins of ancient Carthage. The long coastal strip has a wonderful tropical Mediterranean climate, while inland you will be greeted by the real sandy hell of the Sahara.
After visiting the amazing city-museum of Sidi Bou Said, the ruins of the ancient Roman Colosseum, the cave city of Matmata and after visiting the Bardo Museum, you will surely have an appetite. Feel free to choose a restaurant to your taste, as you will have a truly enormous choice: catering establishments are the most numerous enterprises in the country. So what is worth trying in Tunisia?
Food in Tunisia
It is customary for the locals to eat a lot and eat well, so often you can safely take portions for two, especially since the side dishes are generally free. Given the current competition, the restaurateur's task is not only to feed you good and tasty food, but also to persuade you to visit again.
Tunisian cuisine is a mixture of Arab and European Mediterranean traditions. For example, from the Arabs came spicy harissa - a paste of red pepper in olive oil with garlic and spices, and from the Europeans - an appetizer of cold tuna with olives. Berber flatbreads kobz-mella and kobz-herd are juxtaposed with classic French baguettes, and both go well with local snacks, such as a baked egg or omak khuria salad made from grated pumpkin with carrots and spices.
Since the resort area stretches along the sea coast, grilled fresh fish and seafood - squid, octopus, shrimps - are an indispensable attribute of the local cuisine. If desired, all the same can be ordered deep-fried or in foil.
Do not forget about Tunisian sweets, the choice of which is very large: nuts in sugar, baklava, candied fruits, Mlabes and Kaak El Huarka cakes, Makrud cookies and Kaaber honey balls.
Top 10 Tunisian dishes
Couscous
Couscous
Couscous is the very essence of the Arabian culinary tradition. Any Tunisian family has its own "/>
The sweet version of couscous is called mesfuf. It is made with nuts, dates and caramel syrup.
Tunisian sweet lamb
The meat is cut into pieces, rubbed with salt and cinnamon, and then fried with rosebuds in olive oil. When the lamb is browned, chestnuts and pre-soaked chickpeas are added to it. Then fill the pan with water and simmer for at least an hour over low heat. Next, the dish is supplemented with raisins, sugar and black pepper, topped up with water and stewed again. This culinary delight can be eaten both hot and cold as a snack.
Mashvi
Lamb roasted on a spit. The cleaned and gutted lamb carcass is salted, pepper, greased with honey or lemon juice and fried on a spit over a pit of coals or over a special hearth. The finished lamb is served with vegetables and hot sauce or stuffed with rice, raisins and spices.
Kefta
Kefta
Lamb meatballs. The meat is finely chopped with a cut, after boiling in boiling water for fifteen minutes. Minced meat is mixed with a raw egg, chopped herbs and onions. Salt, add a mixture of black and red pepper and mold balls the size of a chicken egg. Kefta is fried in boiling olive oil and served with harissa sauce and omak khuriya salad.
Shorba
Thick soup with meat, vegetables and pasta. The lamb is fried in a saucepan with olive oil until crusty. Then the meat is removed and the onion cut into rings is added to the remaining fat, frying it until soft. Then add the pre-soaked chickpeas and fry the mixture for another five minutes, stirring thoroughly. The meat is returned to the pan, supplemented with potatoes, tomato paste and pepper and simmered over low heat. Prepared meat with vegetables is poured with water and cooked like soup, adding chopped peppers, tomatoes and herbs. At the end, add ground wheat grits and cook for another ten to fifteen minutes. Shorba is prepared not only from lamb, but also from beef or fish.
Spicy fish soup
To begin with, a mixture of onions, bell peppers and garlic is fried in olive oil. The finished mixture is transferred to a saucepan, poured with water, chopped potatoes are added, salted, thickly pepper, put in cinnamon and poured with lemon juice. When the broth is cooked, put fish, chopped into pieces, chopped tomatoes, greens in the broth - and boil again for ten minutes. Delicious and savory dish.
Meshuia salad
Bell peppers are grilled with onions, tomatoes and garlic and then cut into strips. Fried garlic is ground with salt, lemon juice, herbs and olive oil. Onions and tomatoes are cut into rings. Vegetables are mixed and served with pieces of tuna and boiled eggs, pre-watered with olive oil.
Tunisia salad
Raw vegetables - tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes and carrots - are cut into pieces to the best of your imagination. Add boiled beans, potatoes and eggs. The mixture is seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice. Voila - the salad is ready! Simple and delicious!
Tazhin
What is it - an omelet or casserole is a moot point! Fried chicken, spicy sausages, potatoes, cheese, onions and herbs are finely chopped and beaten with eggs (8-10 pieces). The resulting mass is fried in a pan, cut into pieces like a pie and served. An extremely satisfying and nutritious meal.
Brik
Brik
Brik is a Tunisian cheburek. The filling can be any - meat, potatoes, shrimp, cheese and the like, but the most popular is the egg brick. Handmade "malsuki" dough is rolled out in a thin layer and shaped into a circle. Finely chopped tuna with herbs are spread on the base and an egg is broken. Then quickly roll up and deep-fry in a hot deep fat. Real jam!
