Tunisian salad

Ingredients

The vegetables

• 2cucumbers
• peeled and diced small
• 4tomatoes
• deseeded and diced small
• 1green pepper, diced small
• 1small onion, diced very small
• or 4 spring onions

The apple

• 1crisp apple
• peeled and diced small
• a squeeze of lemon, to stop it browning

The dressing

• 4 tablespoonsolive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• or more, to taste
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• black pepper
• a large handful of mint
• chopped finely

To finish

• 1 tingood tuna
• in olive oil, drained
• 2hard-boiled eggs, quartered
• a handful of olives
• harissa, on the side
• optional

To serve

• with bread
• as a starter
• or as a light meal

Directions

1. Use a crisp firm apple. A soft mealy apple is wrong. Toss the diced apple in lemon juice at once. Cut apple browns within minutes. Peel it if the skin is thick or waxed.
2. Halve it and scrape the watery seeds out. They make the salad wet. Deseed them too. Cut them in half and scoop the jelly out.
3. Dice it very small indeed. Soak the diced onion in cold water ten minutes. Drain and dry it. It is optional and it helps. Use a generous amount. Chop it finely.
4. Add it just before serving. Chopped mint darkens and dulls within an hour. Use a decent one here. Whisk the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. It should taste clearly sharp.
5. Start with one lemon and add more. Salt draws water out of the vegetables. Combine all the diced vegetables. Add the apple. Add the dressing and the mint. Toss it gently. Toss gently rather than stirring hard. It should be sharply lemony. Use tuna in olive oil rather than brine.
6. Flake the tuna over the top. Do not stir it through. Cool them in cold water. Quarter them and lay them on top. Scatter them over. Serve harissa on the side. Do not stir it into the salad. Serve it cold or at room temperature.
7. Serve bread alongside. Within an hour it is a different thing. Drain it and add fresh lemon and mint. The diced vegetables keep a day undressed.

Technique

• Deseed both the tomatoes and the cucumber. The seeds and jelly are the wettest parts and they water the dressing down entirely — this is the single most useful step in the recipe, and it feels wasteful only until you taste the difference.
• Dice everything very small, a few millimetres. That fine cut is the defining feature: it lets every spoonful carry everything and lets the dressing coat every piece. There is no shortcut, and a food processor crushes rather than cuts, releasing water and giving mush.
• Dress it shortly before serving. Salt and lemon draw water from the vegetables, the apple browns and softens and the mint darkens — within an hour it is a different salad.
• Toss the apple in lemon juice the moment it is cut. It browns within minutes.
• Use a crisp firm apple. A soft mealy one is wrong here, and a slightly sharp variety works well.
• Dice the onion very small and soak it in cold water for ten minutes if you find raw onion harsh. In large pieces it dominates the whole bowl.
• Use a generous amount of mint, chopped finely and added just before serving. In North African salads mint is a main ingredient rather than a garnish.
• Be generous with lemon. This salad should taste clearly sharp — start with one and add more.
• Lay the tuna on top rather than stirring it through. Stirred in it breaks up and muddies the salad; laid on, it stays in recognisable pieces.
• Serve harissa on the side and never stirred in. It would overwhelm everything.
• The apple is genuinely traditional here rather than a modern addition, and it is what marks the Tunisian salad out from its Levantine and Turkish relatives. It gives sweetness and crunch against the lemon and salt.
• Use tuna in olive oil rather than brine. Tuna stocks vary by species and ocean — skipjack is generally in better shape than the severely depleted bluefin, and pole-and-line or certified tins are worth looking for.
• Tunisia is among the world’s largest olive oil producers, though much of the oil is exported in bulk and bottled elsewhere. Use a decent oil here — it is a main flavour.

Substitutions

• Spring onions replace the diced onion for a milder result.
• Green pepper is optional and adds crunch.
• The tuna and egg can both be left off, making the salad vegan.
• Preserved lemon can be added finely chopped for more depth.
• Parsley can join the mint, though mint should lead.
• Any good olives serve; Tunisian ones are excellent.

Variations

• Salade méchouia uses grilled peppers and tomatoes and is the other great Tunisian salad.
• Slata blankit is the potato-based Tunisian salad.
• Israeli and Palestinian chopped salads use the same fine dice without the apple.
• Çoban salatası in Turkey is the close relative.
• A version with preserved lemon is made in some households.
• Ojja, the Tunisian egg and tomato dish, is often served alongside.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tunisian salad?

Tunisian salad is a salad & side from Tunisia: diced cucumber, tomato, onion and apple with tuna and mint.

How long does Tunisian salad take to make?

Tunisian salad takes 20 minutes of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Tunisian salad?

Yes, within limits. Spring onions replace the diced onion for a milder result. Green pepper is optional and adds crunch. The tuna and egg can both be left off, making the salad vegan. Preserved lemon can be added finely chopped for more depth. Parsley can join the mint, though mint should lead. Any good olives serve; Tunisian ones are excellent.

What is the most important thing to get right in Tunisian salad?

Start with one lemon and add more. Salt draws water out of the vegetables. Combine all the diced vegetables. Add the apple. Add the dressing and the mint. Toss it gently. Toss gently rather than stirring hard. It should be sharply lemony. Use tuna in olive oil rather than brine.