Tunisian fricassee sandwich is made with tuna, potatoes, hard-cooked egg, olives and harissa or filfel-chuma (spicy paprika and garlic sauce). All this goodness is stuffed into a small fried bun.
Does the combination of tuna, potatoes, hard-cooked egg and olives sound familiar? Looks like the French colonization of Tunisia left its culinary impression, and the Tunisian fricassee resembles Nicoise salad.
Tunisian Jewish immigrants brought the sandwich to Israel, where it became a much beloved street food. In Israel the sandwich got a few minor adaptations: the small bun grew to an enormous size and preserved lemons were added to the mix. Now the sandwich is even more pungent and bold and flavors moved even further from France and into the Middle East.
Taking the fricassee sandwich and Nicoise salad and making them into one just means you choose the best of both worlds. The important thing, as with any salad, is that the ingredients have to be fresh and the veggies in season, at the peak of their flavor. I cut the green beans into bite size pieces and mixed with shredded fennel, micro greens and cilantro (any other combination of greens would also work). I prefer mixing the anchovies – that traditionally go on top the Nicoise salad – into the dressing. The tuna is fresh and seared, sweet potatoes replace the regular potatoes, and from the fricassee I took the preserved lemons and added them to the salad. A full weekday meal.
Preserved lemons are available in Israeli and Middle Eastern supermarkets, as well as Whole Foods. But the best one are those you make yourself.
Deconstructed Niçoise Salad
Course: French, Main course, Salads, Tunisian, VegetablesCuisine: French, TunisianDifficulty: Medium8
servings45
minutes30
minutesYou can serve the salad in individual bowls or arrange everything in one large serving tray and let your guests help themselves.
Preserved lemons are available in Israeli and Middle Eastern supermarkets, as well as Whole Foods. But the best one are those you make yourself.
INGREDIENTS
4 medium sweet potatoes or 1½ lb. baby potatoes
Oil spray
3-4 fennel bulb
2 tablespoons Olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1½ lb. fresh tuna steaks, about 1” thick
¼ bunch cilantro, chopped
¼ red onion, chopped
preserved lemons (see note above)
6 eggs
1 lb. French or regular green beans
4 cups micro greens, arugula or baby kale
½ cup kalamata olives or Middle Eastern bitter olives
Ground black pepper
Optional: harissa sauce
- For the dressing
2 oz. can anchovies
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
10 rosemary leaves (optional)
DIRECTIONS
- Oven to 400 F degrees. Spray 3 baking sheets with oil.
- Peel sweet potatoes and slice to ½ inch thick slices. Arrange in one layer on baking sheet, spray with oil and roast for about 20 minutes, until tender, flipping baking sheets after 10 minutes. Keep aside.
- If you’re using baby potatoes, cut them in half, put in a rimmed baking sheet, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes, or until tender, shaking the baking sheet occasionally.
- Cut fennel bulbs lengthwise into ½ inch slices. Arrange in one layer on baking sheet, brush both sides with oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Roast for about 20 minutes, until tender and golden-brown, flipping baking sheets after 10 minutes. Keep aside.
- In a small pot, bring salted water to boil. Once the water is boiling, add eggs using a spoon and cook for 8 minutes. Transfer to ice water to stop cooking.
- Boil salted water in a small pot and blanch green beans for 2-3 minutes, to keep them crisp. Transfer to ice water to stop cooking.
- To make the dressing, put all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.
- Pat dry tuna with paper towel and dice to ¼ inch dice. Put in a large bowl, add cilantro, preserved lemon, onion and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Mix, cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Prepare 8 large individual bowls or plates. Arrange 4-5 slices of sweet potatoes at the bottom. Top with a pile of the green bean, fennel, tuna tartare, egg halves. Drizzle dressing, top with olives and freshly ground pepper. If you want, you can offer harissa sauce on the side.
- Alternatively, you can arrange everything on one large tray, as in the photo above, keep the dressing (and the harissa, if using) in a bowl on the side, and let your guests help themselves.