The national cuisine of Tunisia is traditionally dominated by beef and goat meat, vegetables and fruits, cheeses and, of course, fish. Tuna is especially popular in Tunisia and is prepared in many ways, and the number of dishes made from this fish is hard to imagine. The traditional cuisine of Tunisia uses a lot of spices and spicy herbs, which make the flavor of local dishes bright and rich. Tunisians eat a lot of bread, mostly pita bread and long French loafs. Bread is served with almost all Tunisian dishes. It is either eaten as a snack or used instead of a spoon during a meal, picking up pieces of meat and dipping them in sauce.
Chorba. This thick and flavorful soup is made with veal and vegetables. It is one of the common lunch specialties of Tunisians.
Tajine. This dish is considered an omelet by the locals. But from a foreigner's perspective, a dish with so much meat, cheese and roasted peppers is more like an open pie.
Ojjay. Pretty much the same omelet, except that pepper sausage replaces the meat.
Tajin ez-Zitoun. In this case, it's not another kind of omelet, but a veal stew with olives.
Genaoya. In the case of this dish, the meat is braised with cilantro, sweet pepper slices and chile.
Shakenouki. A meat stew, but unlike most Tunisian dishes, this version is served cold.
Brochet. Under this name is a meat or chicken kebab made from very small pieces.
Mashwi. And this Tunisian dish is more than substantial. After all, we are talking about spit-roasted lamb.
Mark. To make this dish, the meat is baked in a tomato sauce.
Felfel mahci. For this dish, the meat is started with sweet peppers and roasted with the resulting meat.
Mergouz. This is what Tunisia calls small smoked sausages.
Harissa. A sauce made as a paste of olive oil and red pepper. It is additionally flavored with garlic, cumin or parsley. It is served with almost all dishes and serves as a condiment.
Meshuya. Salad with tuna, sardines, roasted peppers and tomatoes.
Brick. Closed pancakes of unleavened dough filled with tuna or crabmeat.
Couscous. A dish common in all Arab countries. It is prepared from millet groats with meat, vegetables and a variety of sauces. Each country cooks couscous in its own way.
The sweets of Tunisia, like any eastern country, deserve a special mention. Those with a sweet tooth will find traditional baklava, as well as a huge number of cakes with dates, almonds, apricots, prunes, pistachios and other fillings. But there are a few special desserts that you can only try in Tunisia.
Samsa. This is not our usual puff with meat or cheese, but a bun made of thin dough. The samsa is filled with roasted almonds and sesame seeds.
Malbia. This pastry in Tunisia is made of rice and nuts. Although the combination, at first glance, seems far from sweet, you will quickly see that it is not.
Mahrud. This brownie is created from semolina. It's filled with dates and candied oranges and sprinkled with cinnamon.
Bouza. This cake is based on sorghum and filled with nuts.
The signature drink of Tunisia is tea brewed with mint and pine nuts. It is brewed very strong, and the flavor of this unusual tea combination is impossible to convey. Coffee in Tunisia is drunk strong, putting a lot of cardamom when brewing. Other non-alcoholic beverages in Tunisia include a variety of fresh juices, which are drunk in large quantities, mineral water, and palm milk, which is very popular in the southern regions of the country.
Tunisia has a good wine industry, producing a variety of red, white and rosé wines. Tunisia also produces Seltia beer, a date liqueur called tibarin, and a date and fig-based vodka called bukha.
