Tunisian · salad

Salade Mechouia

Name: Salade Mechouia
Prep time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: Tunisian
Ingredients: green bell peppers — 400 g; mild long green chillies — 400 g; tomatoes — 500 g; onion — 110 g; garlic — 18 g; olive oil — 55 g; lemon juice — 30 g; caraway seeds — 5 g; ground coriander — 5 g; salt — 5 g; tuna in olive oil — 120 g; eggs — 200 g; oil-cured black olives — 60 g; harissa — 10 g

Salade Mechouia reads citrus 5.1, salinity 4.8 and sourness 4.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Tunisian salad, about 1 hr 15 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 5.3 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 2.0 / 10
Sour & Bright — 6.5 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.2 / 10
Rich & Fat — 4.3 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.6 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Citrus 5.1 · Salinity 4.8 · Sourness 4.5 · Allium 4.2 · Richness 4.0 · Umami 2.4 · Funk & Ferment 2.1 · Warm Spice 2.1 · Bitterness 1.9 · Heat 1.7 · Fruity 1.6 · Sweetness 1.3 · Earthy 1.2 · Herbaceous 1.2 · Nutty 1.1 · Floral 0.8

What's in it (14)

green bell peppers — 400 g
mild long green chillies — 400 g
tomatoes — 500 g
onion — 110 g
garlic — 18 g
olive oil — 55 g
lemon juice — 30 g
caraway seeds — 5 g
ground coriander — 5 g
salt — 5 g
tuna in olive oil — 120 g
eggs — 200 g
oil-cured black olives — 60 g
harissa — 10 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 15 min (35 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 35.8 kcal, 1.9 g protein, 1.7 g fat, 3.3 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (6 steps)

Mechouia means grilled, and the char is the dish. Lay the peppers, chillies, tomatoes, whole unpeeled onion and unpeeled garlic cloves directly on a grid over hot coals or under a very hot broiler and blacken them all over, about 20 minutes, turning as each side blisters.
Pile everything into a bowl, cover, and let it steam 10 minutes - the trapped steam lifts the skins.
Peel and seed the peppers, chillies and tomatoes, and slip the skins off the onion and garlic. Do not rinse them; you will wash away the smoke.
Chop and then pound everything together to a coarse, uneven paste - never a smooth puree.
Dress with the olive oil, lemon juice, caraway, coriander, salt and harissa and toss well. The ground caraway is the signature of Tunisian dressing.
Chill 30 minutes, then spread on a flat plate and top with the flaked tuna, quartered hard-boiled eggs and black olives.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Grilled Chicken Tostadas with Refried Beans — Mexican
Brandade de Morue Nîmoise — French · Languedoc
Zucchini and Feta Fritters with Lemon Yogurt — Greek
Mediterranean White Bean and Spinach Skillet — Mediterranean
Grilled Greek Chicken Souvlaki — Greek

Keep reading: what citrus, salinity, sourness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.