Tunisian Eid Plate with Slow-Braised Lamb and Smoky Tomato Salad

About This Recipe

Slow-braised lamb spiced with harissa and warm North African seasoning is a genuine centerpiece of Tunisian celebration meals, particularly for Eid, when lamb takes center stage on the table. This plate pairs that braise with mechouia, Tunisia's iconic smoky roasted tomato and pepper salad, made by charring the vegetables directly over flame before chopping and dressing them, a real and widely eaten dish rather than an invented pairing. The lamb shoulder is seared first, then braised low and slow in a harissa-spiked tomato and onion sauce for several hours until it falls apart at the touch of a fork, the same technique used for Tunisian tagines despite the name overlap with Moroccan tagine cookware — in Tunisia, tagine actually refers to a baked egg-and-meat dish, while this braise is closer to what's called marqa. The mechouia salad is made separately, charring tomatoes, peppers and a few garlic cloves until blackened, then peeling and finely chopping everything together with olive oil, capers and often canned tuna or hard-boiled egg as garnish. Served together over steamed couscous, it's a plate that captures Tunisia's real love of smoky, harissa-forward flavors on a festive table.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 2 kglamb shoulder(bone-in, trimmed)
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 2onions(sliced)
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 3 tbspharissa paste
• 400 gcanned crushed tomatoes
• 2 cupsbeef or lamb stock
• 1.5 tspground cumin
• 1.5 tspfine sea salt
• 4large tomatoes(for mechouia)
• 3green bell peppers(for mechouia)
• 2garlic cloves(unpeeled, for mechouia)
• 3 tbspolive oil(for mechouia)
• 1 tbspcapers
• 2hard-boiled eggs(quartered)
• 2 cupscouscous(steamed, for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Sear the lamb

   Pat the lamb shoulder dry, season with salt, and sear in olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat, 4-5 minutes per side, until deeply browned.

2. 2

   Build the braise

   Remove the lamb, add onions to the pot and cook 8 minutes until soft. Add garlic and harissa, cook 1 minute, then add crushed tomatoes, stock, cumin and salt.

3. 3

   Braise low and slow

   Return the lamb to the pot, cover, and braise at 150C (300F) for 3 hours until the meat is fall-apart tender.

4. 4

   Char the mechouia vegetables

   While the lamb braises, char the tomatoes, peppers and unpeeled garlic over a gas flame or under a broiler until blackened all over, about 15 minutes, turning occasionally.

5. 5

   Peel and chop the mechouia

   Steam the charred vegetables covered 10 minutes, then peel off the skins and seeds. Finely chop everything together and toss with olive oil and a pinch of salt.

6. 6

   Rest the lamb

   Remove the lamb from the braise, rest 15 minutes, then shred or pull the meat from the bone.

7. 7

   Plate

   Serve the braised lamb over steamed couscous with the braising sauce spooned over, and the mechouia salad alongside, garnished with capers and hard-boiled egg.

Variations

• •

  Beef substitute: use beef chuck instead of lamb shoulder for a similar braised texture with a different flavor.

• •

  Tuna addition: fold flaked canned tuna into the mechouia salad, a very common traditional Tunisian addition.

• •

  Extra heat: serve additional harissa on the side for those who want more spice at the table.

Storage

Refrigerate braised lamb and mechouia salad separately up to 4 days. Reheat the lamb gently in its sauce on the stovetop; the mechouia salad is traditionally served cold or at room temperature and keeps well.

Frequently Asked Questions