flipTunisian Fricassé with Tuna and Harissa
Tunisian Fricassé with Tuna and Harissa
Why this dish? Fricassé is the king sandwich of the streets of Tunis and La Goulette, the snack that children and passersby bought on the go. It evokes Gisèle Halimi's hometown, the port and markets of her Tunisian childhood.
A small fried bread, soft inside and golden outside, split and stuffed with tuna, potatoes, hard-boiled egg, olives, capers and a generous dab of harissa. Small, intense, meant to be eaten standing up.
That's the street of Tunis in your mouth: a small bread that you plunge into boiling oil until it puffs up and turns golden. You split it without cutting it in half, you spread it with harissa — don't be shy — then the tuna, the egg, the potato, the olives, the capers. We ate it standing up, fingers shiny, without worrying about good manners. I loved that world, the world of markets, of simple people; it's for them, deep down, that I pleaded all my life.
- •Leavened bread dough — enough for small buns (fried base)
- •Canned tuna in oil — one can (protein filling)
- •Potatoes — a few, cooked (filling)
- •Hard-boiled eggs — as needed (filling)
- •Olives and capers — a handful (salty flavor)
- •Harissa — generous (signature heat)
- •Frying oil — a bath (cooking the bread)
Tunisian Fricassé with Tuna and Harissa
A small fried bread, soft inside and golden outside, split and stuffed with tuna, potatoes, hard-boiled egg, olives, capers and a generous dab of harissa. Small, intense, meant to be eaten standing up.
Why this dish? Fricassé is the king sandwich of the streets of Tunis and La Goulette, the snack that children and passersby bought on the go. It evokes Gisèle Halimi's hometown, the port and markets of her Tunisian childhood.
That's the street of Tunis in your mouth: a small bread that you plunge into boiling oil until it puffs up and turns golden. You split it without cutting it in half, you spread it with harissa — don't be shy — then the tuna, the egg, the potato, the olives, the capers. We ate it standing up, fingers shiny, without worrying about good manners. I loved that world, the world of markets, of simple people; it's for them, deep down, that I pleaded all my life.
Ingredients (period version)
- Leavened bread dough — enough for small buns (fried base)
- Canned tuna in oil — one can (protein filling)
- Potatoes — a few, cooked (filling)
- Hard-boiled eggs — as needed (filling)
- Olives and capers — a handful (salty flavor)
- Harissa — generous (signature heat)
- Frying oil — a bath (cooking the bread)
Ingredients
- Fricassé buns (or bread dough) — 6 pieces (base)
- Canned tuna in olive oil — 1 large can (160 g) (filling)
- Potatoes — 3 medium, cooked and sliced (filling)
- Hard-boiled eggs — 3, sliced (filling)
- Black olives and capers — 50 g + 1 tbsp (salty flavor)
- Harissa — 2 tbsp (heat)
- Neutral oil for frying — 1 bath (cooking)
Method
- Shape small oval buns with the leavened dough and let them rise until doubled.
- Heat the oil to 170°C and deep-fry the buns: they should puff up and turn golden in a few minutes. Drain on paper towels.
- Let cool slightly, then split each bun lengthwise without separating completely.
- Spread the inside with harissa.
- Fill with flaked tuna, potato slices, egg slices, olives and capers.
- Serve immediately, warm, to be eaten by hand.
How it was made : Fricassé was fried to order in stalls and markets in Tunis. The frying of the bun — rather than baking it — is what distinguishes it from a simple sandwich; it was filled according to what was available, but tuna, egg, harissa and olives form the canon.
The contemporary twist : Mini-bite version for appetizers: very small fricassés lined up on a board, each topped with an olive pierced with a toothpick.
Sources : Street food of Tunis — Tunisian fricassé (urban tradition) · Jewish-Tunisian popular cuisine
Gisèle Halimi · Charactorium
