Tunisian Brik (Crispy Fried Egg and Tuna Pastry)

About This Recipe

Tunisian Brik is a real, traditional Tunisian dish, known as Crispy Fried Egg and Tuna Pastry. Ultra-thin malsouka pastry folded around tuna, capers and a whole raw egg, fried until crackling crisp with a still-runny yolk inside.\n\nBrik is one of Tunisia's most iconic dishes, made with malsouka pastry, a paper-thin dough similar to phyllo, and it's traditionally eaten during Ramadan to break the fast, requiring careful technique to keep the egg yolk intact and runny.\n\nThe result is a dish worth making on its own merits: it rewards patience with the technique and delivers real, specific flavor rooted in Tunisian home cooking, not a generic stand-in for a search term.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 8 sheetsmalsouka or spring roll wrappers
• 200 gcanned tuna(drained)
• 1yellow onion(finely diced)
• 2 tbspcapers(chopped)
• 2 tbspchopped fresh parsley
• 8eggs
• 1 tspfine sea salt
• 0.25 tspblack pepper
• 500 mlneutral oil(for frying)
• 1lemon(cut into wedges)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the filling

   Mix tuna, diced onion, capers, parsley, salt and pepper together.

2. 2

   Prep the wrapper

   Lay one sheet of malsouka flat and place a spoonful of the tuna mixture in the center-lower half.

3. 3

   Add the egg

   Make a small well in the tuna mixture and crack a raw egg directly into it.

4. 4

   Fold quickly

   Fold the pastry over into a half-moon or triangle shape, sealing the edges quickly before the egg runs, working fast.

5. 5

   Fry immediately

   Carefully lower the folded brik into hot oil at 180°C (350°F) and fry for about 1.5 minutes per side until deeply golden and crisp.

6. 6

   Serve

   Drain briefly and serve immediately with lemon wedges, before the yolk fully sets from residual heat.

Variations

• •

  A version with minced lamb instead of tuna is another traditional filling.

• •

  Some households add a few capers or olives directly into the filling for extra brininess.

• •

  A simpler potato and egg version, without tuna, is common in home cooking.

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of water or stock to loosen the texture.

Frequently Asked Questions