At the Tunisian table, the meal opens with kémia, a medley of small plates to nibble (grilled salads, olives, brik) accompanied by harissa. Next comes the centerpiece dish, almost always couscous, shared from a large communal platter. The meal closes with the ritual of mint tea or pine nut tea, poured from a height and drunk in several small glasses, prolonging the conversation. This structure flows between Tunis and Paris in Amina's life, where dual culture places side by side the brazier of Carthage and the Parisian apartment kitchen.

Harissa (a paste of dried chilies spiked with garlic, caraway and coriander) is the red soul of Tunisian cuisine: a dab goes into almost everything. Tabil, a ground spice blend (caraway, coriander, dried garlic, chili), is its fragrant brother. Honest note: chili is a New World product, so this signature is recent on the scale of history — but it is perfectly period for an artist born in 1962.