Tunisia Food Guide

In common with all Arab nations, mealtimes are festive and social occasions, eaten in harmony across a shared table. Tunisian meals are long and elaborate rituals with many courses of delicious dishes. A typical formal Tunisian dinner will begin with a soup like the shorba frik - a lamb soup flavored with sprouted green wheat grains, tomato paste, coriander, parsley and seasonings served with slices of lemon. Brik comes next and is a crisp, very thin pastry envelope that comes with a range of fillings, followed by Slata Mechouia – a salad of grilled green peppers, tomatoes finely chopped garlic, seasoned with herbs and olive oil and finally garnished with tuna fish, boiled eggs, olives and capers. The main course consists of a variety of meat stews and roast lamb, veal or fish.

Fresh fruit salad, fruits, pastries and custards, coffee and tea round off this rich repast. A perfect finale to a meal is a tiny cup of sweet, rich Turkish coffee or a glass of fragrant green tea, served with a spring of fresh mint and lemon slices. Tunisia’s national dish is the well-known couscous- a savoury dish made from semolina, vegetables and meat. Another highlight of a gastronomic trip to Tunisia is seafood freshly caught off the miles of coastline, and a staple of local cuisine.