Tunisian Fricassé
Tunisia’s favourite street sandwich: little fried bread rolls, puffy and golden, split and filled with harissa, tuna, potato, egg and olives.
Method
In a large bowl, mix the flour, yeast and sugar, and add most of the salt on the opposite side so it doesn’t touch the yeast directly. Pour in the lukewarm water and olive oil, bring it together with a spatula, then knead on the worktop for into a smooth, soft dough that is just slightly tacky.
Add in this stepPlain flour 200 gInstant dried yeast 1 tspSugar 1 tspSalt 0.6 tspLukewarm water (about 35 °C) 120 mlOlive oil (for the dough) 1½ tbsp
Shape it into a ball, put it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm for . It is ready when roughly doubled and a finger poke springs back slowly.
Knock out a little air and divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball, then roll it under your palm into a plump oval about 8 cm long. Space them out on an oiled tray or baking paper, cover with a dry tea towel and leave to rise for .
Meanwhile, put the potatoes (unpeeled, in 3 cm chunks), the eggs, cold water and the rest of the salt into a 18 cm pot and bring to the boil on high heat. Once boiling, cook the eggs for and move them to cold water; cook the potatoes for in total, until a skewer slides in. Cool, peel and slice them thinly, and peel and slice the eggs too.
Add in this stepPotatoes 180 gEggs 1Salt 0.4 tsp
high heatPour 5 cm of oil into a 20 cm pot and heat it on medium heat to 170 °C (a wooden chopstick should fizz steadily). Lower in the rolls 2 or 3 at a time and fry for about 2 minutes per side, turning, until puffed and deep golden; drain them upright on paper towels. Frying them all takes about . Keep the temperature steady: oil that is too hot burns the outside before the inside cooks.
Add in this stepNeutral oil, for deep frying 750 ml
medium heatWhen the rolls are cool enough to handle, slit each one along the side without cutting all the way through and open it like a pocket. Spread a thin layer of harissa inside, then fill with potato, tuna, egg, olives and capers. Finish with a few drops of lemon juice and tuna oil and eat straight away.
Add in this stepHarissa 2 tspCanned tuna in oil, drained 120 gPitted black olives 12Capers 1 tspLemon juice 1 tsp
Cook's tip
Eat them within 30 minutes, while the outside is crisp and the inside soft. If the dough is very sticky, add flour 1 tbsp at a time only. In Tunisia, a spoonful of smoky grilled-pepper salad (mechouia) often goes in too.
Cooking it at camp
Make the dough at home, let it rise slowly in the fridge (8 to 12 hours) and carry it in the cooler; at the campsite, shape it, rest it 30 minutes and fry. Deep oil is risky outdoors, so use a small pot with just 3 cm of oil on a stable burner and fry 1 or 2 at a time. If you’d rather not fry, flatten the rolls slightly and cook them covered in an oiled pan on low, turning once.