IMAGES:
GARY
LAT
HAM
HARISSA
This fiery scarlet paste, made from
red chilli peppers, garlic, caraway,
citrus and coriander, provides many
Tunisian dishes with a welcome kick.
BRIK
Watch out for the exploding egg
yolk hidden inside these deep-
fried pastry triangles, typically
filled with potato, cheese and
onion, then drizzled in lemon juice.
OJJA MERGUEZ
A Tunisian twist on shakshuka that’s
heavy on the garlic and features
spicy lamb merguez sausages.
LABLABI
This hearty chickpea soup topped
with a spoonful of harissa and
a poached egg is a breakfast
favourite during Tunisia’s
surprisingly chilly winters.SUN-DRIED TOMATOES
Tunisia produces over a million
tomatoes annually and the sun-
kissed climate of Cap Bon cultivates
over half of these sweet delights.
FIVE FOOD FINDS that his wines have won awards in France
recently, though his incorrigible home crowd
remains the most important judge: “In Tunisia,
you can put 100 medals on your bottle but if
the customer doesn’t like it, they’ll tell you!”
While Tunisian wine is still making inroads
abroad, other Cap Bon products have become
ubiquitous with this country’s cuisine.
Tunisia is the largest exporter of harissa,
the unmistakable crimson paste of roasted
baklouti chilli peppers, often blended with
garlic, caraway seeds, salt, lemon juice and
coriander. Whether served as an appetiser
paired with olive oil-soaked tabouna bread or
as a fiery accompaniment to classic couscous
dishes, harissa is so vital to the identity of Cap
Bon that Tunisia submitted an application for
the condiment to be considered for UNESCO’s
Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 20 20.
After a fascinating behind-the-scenes tour
at the rural Zgolli processing factory, the
hunger for harissa leads me to Nabeul, a town
on Cap Bon’s south coast. I’m about to be led
around its chaotic local souk by Rafik Tlatli, a
wisecracking avuncular chef wearing a dark
flat cap and a white chef’s jacket with sleeves
decorated with bright red peppers.
Dodging scurrying stray cats and weaving
mopeds as we enter, I’m entranced by
the endless boxes of gleaming olives and
multicoloured pyramids of paprika, cumin,
black sesame and myriad other spices lining
the busy stalls. Chilli peppers and garlic cloves
hang from the redbrick ceiling. Tlatli turns to
me and remarks with a grin, “What is it you
say? An apple a day keeps the doctor away?
Well, a garlic a day keeps everyone away!”Rafik’s jocular personality is one reason why
he’s become something of a celebrity chef in
Tunisia, doing everything from hosting radio
shows to judging TV cooking competitions.
But he’s most comfortable back at his elegant
restaurant Slovenia in the heart of Nabeul
— and it’s there, after our market tour, that
he demonstrates how to cook ojja merguez, a
Tunisian breakfast dish, similar to shakshuka.
With his searing hot frying pan spitting
olive oil and a series of small white bowls laden
with fresh ingredients, Rafik is in his element,
as he drops in diced tomatoes, green peppers,
sliced garlic cloves, tomato puree and, finally,
chunky cuts of spicy merguez sausages. A
generous dose of red harissa is stirred into the
mix before Rafik cracks two eggs and brings
the ojja to a bubbling, aromatic crescendo.
“Et voila!”
Around the table a few minutes later, the
sizzling ojja is served alongside torn loaves of
tabouna. The rich tender merguez melts in my
mouth while the fire of the harissa dances on
my tongue. It’s symbolic of Cap Bon’s cuisine;
like so many of the dishes I’ve tried here, it’s
food laced with flair and flavour.HOW TO DO IT: Tunisair flies twice-weekly
from Heathrow and weekly from Stansted
to Tunis-Carthage Airport, with returns
from £190. From there, it’s just over an hour’s
drive to both Nabeul and Hammamet.
Double rooms at the Magic Hotel Manar resort
in Hammamet start from £82. tunisair.com
magichotelsandresorts.com/manar
MORE INFO: discovertunisia.comChef Rafik Tlatli’s recipe
for ojja includes spices
and merguez sausageLeft: Chef Rafik Tatli’s ojja,
a popular breakfast dish