Food

I spend hours every day in my kitchen trying out new recipes or tweaking old ones. Sometimes I play around with a new ingredient or try out suggestions sent me by my faithful readers.

There are certain flavors or techniques that, every once in a while, call out to me for lack of attention – usually some taste I remember from my childhood. It can be a certain aroma, sound or taste that sweeps me up and carries me back to an earlier time. And when that happens, I can’t wait to prepare a dish my mother (or in later years, my mother-in-law) would make so that I can indulge all my senses in the experience.

Tunisian cuisine, in my opinion, is full of such unique, rich and yet delicate flavors. It involves extremely interesting techniques that make use of the most basic ingredients, such as vegetables, legumes and sometimes a little beef. Most of the protein in Tunisian dishes comes from the vegetables, herbs and legumes. The seasoning of these foods is delicate, just like the people who come from this region.

When I got married, I was then exposed to Tripolitan cuisine, which has similar flavors and names.

For example, similar dishes are made certain times of year when specific vegetables were in season. Some vegetables can be pickled, canned and then stored in the pantry for year-round use. Dried tomatoes in olive oil, green garlic or harissa are typical Tunisian seasonings used all year round.

Some of my best memories are from when I would come home. I would pause before opening the front door and try to guess what my mother was cooking just by inhaling the fragrance. Sometimes it would be the pungent smell of a meat dish, or the sweet smell of orange and aniseed from my favorite cookies.

Below, you will find three wonderful recipes from Tunisian cuisine that are quick and easy to prepare. Bon appétit!

There’s a traditional Tunisian salad called mazura that is made from cooked carrots that are cooked again with onion and harissa. I tweaked this recipe and bake different colored carrots that are cut into strips, with garlic, harissa or pilpelchuma, caraway seeds and a little lemon.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Ingredients:

5-6 large carrots, quartered lengthwise 2 Tbsp. harissa or pilpelchuma

2 garlic cloves, crushed ½ tsp. caraway seeds Olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste Baking paper Aluminum foil

Place the carrot strips in a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Cover the carrots with oil.

Transfer the carrots to a baking pan, cover with foil and bake in an oven that was preheated to 200° for 30 minutes.

Lower the temperature to 180° and bake another 20 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for 5-7 minutes, while keeping an eye on them so they don’t burn.

Level of difficulty: Easy. Time: 1 hour.

Status: Parve.