The cuisine of Tunisia, is a blend of Oriental, Mediterranean and desert dweller’s culinary traditions. Its distinctive spicy fieriness comes from neighbouring Mediterranean countries and the many civilizations who have ruled Tunisian land: Roman, Phoenician, Arab, French, Turkish and the native Berber people. When the ancient tribes were nomads, many of the cooking styles and utensils began to take shape. Nomadic people were limited in their cooking by what locally made pans and pots they could carry with them.
A tagine is really the name of a conical-lidded pot, although today the same word is applied to what is cooked in it. Tunisia, like all countries in the Mediterranean basin, offers a “sun cuisine,” based mainly on spices, olive oil, seafood, tomatoes, and meat from rearing (lamb).
Tunisian food is spicy hot, unlike other North African cuisine. A popular ingredient and condiment, harissa that is used extensively Tunisian cooking, is a hot red pepper sauce made of red chili peppers and garlic, flavoured with cumin, coriander, olive oil and often tomatoes. There is an old wife’s tale that says a husband can judge his wife’s affections by the amount of hot peppers she uses when preparing his food. If the food becomes bland then a man may believe that his wife no longer loves him. However when the food is prepared for guests, to suit the possibly more delicate palate of the visitor, the hot peppers are often toned down.
Like chili peppers or harissa, the tomato is also an ingredient which cannot be separated from the Tunisia cuisine. Eggs, tuna, olives and various varieties of cereals, pasta, herbs and spices are also ingredients which are featured prominently in Tunisian cooking.
Tabil, pronounced “table,” is a word in Tunisian Arabic meaning “seasoning ” and refers to a particular Tunisian spice mix, although earlier it meant ground coriander. Tabil is one of the spice mixes brought to Tunisia by Muslims expelled from Andalusia in 1492 after the fall of Granada. Today tabil, closely associated with the cooking of Tunisia, features cayenne pepper, garlic, caraway and coriander seeds pounded in a mortar and then dried in the sun and is often used in cooking beef or veal.
Tunisia can serve abundant, varied and exceptionally fresh supply of fish in its restaurants. Many diners will be content to have their fish simply served and grilled filleted or sliced with lemon juice and a little olive oil. Fish can also be baked, stuffed, fried in olive oil, seasoned with cumin (kamoun). Cuttle fish, Squid and octopus are often served in hot crispy batter with slices of lemon, as a cooked salad or stuffed and served with couscous.
Couscous, which can be prepared in many ways is the national dish of Tunisia. It is cooked in a special kind of double boiler called a kiska:s in Arabic or couscoussi?re in French. Vegetables and Meat are boiled in the lower half. The top half has holes in the bottom through which the steam rises to cook the grain which is put in this part. Cooked this way the grain acquires the flavour of whatever is below. The usual grain is semolina. To serve, the grain is piled in the middle of a dish, and the meat and vegetables put on top. A sauce can be then poured over before serving.
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