Tunisian Fricassé (Sandwich) Recipe

I can still remember my first fricassé experience like it was yesterday. The year was 2006 and I was living and studying abroad in Tunisia for the first three and a half months of my junior year of college, staying with a host family in the capital. (Most of our family lives in the northwest, near Algeria.) One fall afternoon when I was running errands in the sun-dappled streets of downtown Tunis with my host mom, she had us make a pit-stop at her favorite fricassé cart. I had no idea what to expect, and left the ordering up to her, but as soon as she pressed the small sandwich wrapped in paper into my palm, I couldn’t wait to dig in. That first bite is all you need to be addicted and what follows is the perfect marriage between sweet and savory, soft and crunchy. There’s an initial crunch in the first bite of the fried exterior, followed by a pillow-like quality of the slightly sweet, fluffy doughy interior. The brininess from the olives and tuna are balanced out by small cubes of starchy potatoes and creamy hard boiled eggs, and of course harissa is the magic ingredient that ties it all together and gives it the signature Tunisian kick. It’s the street food sandwich of contradictions and it’s perfect. For the recipe, read on!

RECIPE FOR FRICASSE

Ingredients for Dough

500 grams white all-purpose flour

1 sachet regular active dry yeast (2.25 tsp)

1 tbsp olive oil

pinch of salt

Ingredients for filling

pitted black olives

1-2 russet potatoes

eggs

harissa

tuna, drained

parsley

Preparation

Assemble all ingredients in a stand mixer. Turn on and slowly pour 1 cup of lukewarm water to bring dough together. If necessary, add more water, a little at a time. (You can also do the mixing step by hand in a bowl.)

After you’ve assembled your dough, put in a bowl. Rub olive oil over the top of the ball then cover and let rest 1-2 hours until it doubles in size.

Meanwhile:

Boil water in a large saucepan and place eggs in. Remove after 10 minutes and rinse under cold water. Peel when cool and slice. (If you prefer a jammier egg, you can remove it from the boiling water after 7-8 minutes.)

Boil water and cook russet potatoes until soft/tender but still holding their shape. Drain under cold water and once cool, dice them into small squares.

When dough has risen, roll out on flat surface with a rolling pin. Cut out circles using a round cookie-cutter (3-3.5” in diameter) or hand form them. Then shape individual circles into ovals (2.5-3”). Cover with a damp towel and let rest again for at least 10-15 min.

Heat your neutral cooking oil (canola or vegetable) in a deep pot. Once the oil is hot, gently place the dough in the pot. (Don’t overcrowd it, so be sure to do in batches.) Let each piece of dough get golden-brown and puffed up on one side before flipping over and letting it do the same on the other side. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and place on a rack or paper towel-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Once cooked, take a serrated knife and slice down the long side of the oval without cutting all the way through (so it’s still in one piece like a sandwich roll or hotdog bun).

Spread harissa on one (or both!) sides. Fill with the potatoes, sliced hard-boiled egg, tuna, pitted black olives, and finely chopped parsley. Enjoy!