Out of Africa - Tunisian food - Recipe

Vegetarian Times, July, 2000 by Patsy Jamieson

2. Meanwhile, in mortar and pestle or with side of chef's knife, mash garlic, salt and caraway seeds into a paste. Transfer to large bowl. Whisk in lemon juice and oil. Season with freshly ground pepper to taste. Set dressing aside.

3. When vegetables are cool enough to handle, peel, seed and dice tomatoes; dice onion, discarding stem; peel, seed and dice bell peppers; peel, seed and mince chili pepper. Transfer vegetables to bowl with dressing and toss to coat. Serve at room temperature.

PER SERVING: 70 CAL; 2G PROT; 3G TOTAL FAT (0 SAT FAT); 11G CARB; 0 CHOL; 366MG SOD; 3G FIBER

Cumin-Scented Carrot Salad

30 min. 6 TO 8 SERVINGS EGG- & DAIRY-FREE

I have long been a fan of crisp raw carrot salads but had never thought to cook carrots for a salad. In Tunisia I discovered how cooking brings out the inherent sweetness of carrots, producing a distinctive salad. This salad will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days--but don't add garnishes of parsley and scallions until just before you're ready to serve.

3 medium cloves garlic, crushed
1 salt
3 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. Harissa Sauce (see recipe, p. 52)
  or store-bought harissa
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 lbs. carrots (about 12 medium), peeled
  and cut into 1/4-inch-thick diagonal
  slices
2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbs. chopped scallions

1. Bring large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in mortar and pestle or with side of chef's knife, mash garlic and salt into a paste. Transfer to large bowl. Whisk in vinegar, cumin and Harissa Sauce. Gradually whisk in oil. Season with freshly ground pepper to taste. Set dressing aside.

2. Add carrots to boiling water and cook until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain. Transfer carrots to bowl with dressing and toss to coat. Let cool. Serve at room temperature, garnished with parsley and scallions.

PER SERVING: 130 CAL; 2G PROT; 7G TOTAL FAT (1G SAT FAT); 16G CARB; 0 CHOL; 409MG SOD; 4G FIBER

Tunisian Composed Salad

3 min. 8 SERVINGS

This attractive "arranged" salad makes a great centerpiece for a buffet. An inexpensive manual vegetable slicer is useful for cutting the onion, cucumber and bell pepper into uniformly thin slices.

1 small sweet onion, such as Vidalia or
  Walla Walla, cut into thin rings
1/2 tsp. salt
4 ripe medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
3/4 medium English (seedless) cucumber,
  thinly sliced
1 small green bell pepper, halved
  lengthwise and cut into thin slivers
1/2 cup pitted and halved kalamata olives
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (2 1/2 oz.)
4 hard-cooked eggs, quartered
  lengthwise
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. slivered fresh mint

1. Place onion rings in large sieve or colander set over bowl. Sprinkle with salt, toss to coat and let stand 10 to 20 minutes. Rinse onions well and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.

2. Arrange tomato slices, overlapping slightly, around perimeter of large serving platter. Follow with layer of cucumber slices. Mound pepper slivers in center of platter. Scatter onion rings, olives and cheese over vegetables. Arrange several egg wedges in center of salad; place remaining wedges around perimeter.