A French Twist in the Medina: Pan Tunisienne Lunch Pail

Name: A French Twist in the Medina: Pan Tunisienne Lunch Pail
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Mediterranean, French, European
Ingredients: 2 servings Note to cook regarding anchovies; the flat tins from Morocco are terrible. Read the label for country of origin. You are better off using the flat jarred ones OR if you go through a lot of anchovies, the big tinned type packed in salt. A little more work; 118 milliliters (approximately) cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved; 237 milliliters dry couscous; 59 milliliters (approximate) extra virgin olive oil; 2 servings Extra virgin olive oil (arbequina is our favorite for this); 237 milliliters flat leaf parsley; 2 servings fleur de sel (or other sea salt); 2 servings Harissa to your own tolerance; 237 milliliters very fresh mint; 118 milliliters Moroccan style oil cured olives, pitted; 200 gms 10 ounce of oil packed tuna (As Do Mar, or Ortiz “conserva” are highly preferred); 1 Preserved lemon, chopped; 1 Tbsp salt packed capers, rinsed in cold water; 2 servings Sea salt (as in fleur de sel); 1 shallot, roughly chopped

A French Twist in the Medina: Pan Tunisienne Lunch Pail might be just the main course you are searching for. One serving contains 987 calories, 44g of protein, and 56g of fat. This dairy free and pescatarian recipe serves 2. It is a pretty expensive recipe for fans of Mediterranean food. A mixture of extra virgin olive oil, cherry tomatoes, sea salt, and a handful of other ingredients are all it takes to make this recipe so tasty. To use up the sea salt you could follow this main course with the Raspberry Sea Salt Brownies as a dessert. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes roughly 45 minutes.

Instructions

Pit the olives, drain the capers.

Ingredients you will need

Capers

Olives

Place in a food processor bowl along with anchovies (if you are using). Give this a quick couple of pulses. The texture should be coarse---esssentially it's a minimalist olive salad.

Ingredients you will need

Anchovies

Olives

Equipment you will use

Food Processor

Bowl

Split your bread, which ever type you are using, on the horizon.

Ingredients you will need

Bread

Lay the halves out on a sheet of plastic wrap. On one cut side drizzle some olive oil. On the other half side smear some harissa.

Ingredients you will need

Olive Oil

Harissa

Wrap

Equipment you will use

Plastic Wrap

Build the sandwich. Spoon out some of your olive/caper mixture onto the oil half of the bread. Open the can of tuna, don't cut yourself, and spread over the oiled half.

Ingredients you will need

Spread

Bread

Olives

Tuna

Cooking Oil

Depending on the size of your preserved lemon you may need only 1/2 or 1/4 of the whole. You decide. Distribute chopped lemon. I'm not holding your hand on this step.

Ingredients you will need

Lemon

Give it a grind of pepper and a little more salt (it won't need much). Close up the sandwich, wrap tightly in cling wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the couscous.

Ingredients you will need

Couscous

Pepper

Salt

Wrap

Wash and dry the parsley and mint. Chop them together. Meanwhile (the "meanwhile" step) cook the couscous according to package instructions---time varies according to size and shape.

Ingredients you will need

Couscous

Parsley

Mint

Drain the cooked couscous.

Ingredients you will need

Cooked Couscous

Add shallot, tomatoes and the parsley-mint mixture.

Ingredients you will need

Tomato

Parsley

Shallot

Mint

Add some olive oil. Use your clean hands to work this all together.

Ingredients you will need

Olive Oil

Add salt to taste.

Ingredients you will need

Salt

For the lunch pail, unwrap the pan tunisienne and cut in half (or quarter depending on size of loaf). Wrap that up in parchment, tape closed if neccessary. Stick it in the lunch pail. In a separate container portion out the tabbouleh.

Ingredients you will need

Wrap

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan