Ingredients
- 6long green peppers, Turkish or Romano type
- 4ripe tomatoes
- 1fresh green chilli (optional)
- 6garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 5 tbspgood olive oil
- 1 tspground cumin
- ½ tspcoarse salt
- 1 tbspwhite wine vinegar or lemon juice (optional)
To serve
- extra olive oil, for drizzling
- 1hard-boiled egg, quartered (optional)
- black olives
- kesra or crusty bread
Directions
- Grill the peppers, tomatoes, chilli and unpeeled garlic directly over a charcoal fire or a gas flame, turning with tongs, until the skins are blackened and blistered all over; this takes about 12 minutes for the peppers and 8 for the tomatoes.
- If you have no live flame, roast everything under a very hot grill on the top shelf for 20 to 25 minutes, turning twice, until deeply charred.
- Pile the hot vegetables into a bowl and cover with a plate for 10 minutes; the trapped steam lifts the skins.
- Peel the peppers and tomatoes, resisting the urge to rinse them under the tap, which would wash away the smoke that defines the dish.
- Pull out the pepper seeds and stalks, then chop the flesh coarsely on a board, or crush it in a mortar as older cooks do.
- Squeeze the roasted garlic from its skins and crush it with the coarse salt to a paste.
- Warm the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat, add the garlic paste and cumin and cook for 1 minute until fragrant but not coloured.
- Add the chopped peppers and tomatoes and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the mixture has collapsed, darkened and the oil has separated out at the edges.
- Season, sharpen with vinegar if you like, and cool to room temperature; hmiss is never served hot. Drizzle with more oil and top with egg and olives.
Technique
- Real char over open flame is the whole flavour. Oven roasting works, but the result is sweeter and less smoky, closer to a Spanish escalivada.
- Cooking the vegetables down until the oil separates is what turns a salad into hmiss; underdone, it tastes watery and raw.
- It improves overnight in the fridge, and is better brought back to room temperature before serving. Also called felfla or slata mechouia in neighbouring countries.
Substitutions
- Out of season, use good jarred roasted peppers plus a tin of chopped tomatoes, and add ¼ tsp smoked paprika to fake the char.
- Cumin is standard, but caraway is used in the east and gives a sharper, more Tunisian character.
Variations
- Hmiss bel bid folds beaten egg through the hot mixture at the end, scrambling it lightly.
- A Constantine version adds preserved lemon peel and extra chilli.
- Some cooks keep the vegetables in chunks rather than crushing them, for a chunkier salad.
History
Peppers and tomatoes are charred over an open flame, peeled and crushed; the salad appears on the Algerian table at almost every summer meal.
Frequently asked questions
What is Hmiss?
Hmiss is a salad & side from Algeria: grilled pepper, tomato and garlic salad cooled and dressed with olive oil. Peppers and tomatoes are charred over an open flame, peeled and crushed; the salad appears on the Algerian table at almost every summer meal.
How long does Hmiss take to make?
Hmiss takes 20 min of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings as a side. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Hmiss?
Yes, within limits. Out of season, use good jarred roasted peppers plus a tin of chopped tomatoes, and add ¼ tsp smoked paprika to fake the char. Cumin is standard, but caraway is used in the east and gives a sharper, more Tunisian character.
What is the most important thing to get right in Hmiss?
Season, sharpen with vinegar if you like, and cool to room temperature; hmiss is never served hot. Drizzle with more oil and top with egg and olives.
