Sometimes a good side dish can beat the main course. This happened to me when I discovered the famous Slata Mechouia – Tunisian grilled pepper salad. Ever since it has been one of my favorite foods in Tunisia. Everybody needs a little food inspiration every now and then, no further ado here is a Tunisian grilled pepper salad recipe to boost up your next dinner.
What is Tunisian Grilled Pepper Salad – Slata Mechouia?
When planning your visit to Tunisia you should add “eating Slata Mechouia” to your bucket list. So, it’s a kind of important thing! Everybody who has visited Tunisia and tried traditional Tunisian foods has tried this dish also. Tunisian grilled pepper salad Slata Mechouia is made of grilled hot peppers, garlic, and tomatoes. Seasoned with salt and pepper and garnished with olive oil, tuna, hardboiled egg, and olives.
The salad is an excellent combination of spiciness and freshness at the same time. A great dish especially on hot summer days when you are not willing to eat anything too heavy. I encourage you to make a big patch at once and store it in the fridge. It works perfectly as an appetizer, entrée, or side dish. Serve Tunisian grilled pepper salad with grilled meat, chicken, and seafood. Or serve it with fresh bread and dig in. It makes also a perfect sandwich filling. During Ramadan, this grilled pepper salad is served in every Tunisian home, among chorba soup and briks.
Try also these Tunisian dishes:
Mosli – Tunisian chicken and vegetable stew
Kafteji – Tunisian fried vegetables
How to make Tunisian Grilled Pepper Salad- Slata Mechouia
First, you need to choose the vegetables you are going to use. The traditional Tunisian Slata Mechouia is made of spicy green peppers to create some kick! The spicy peppers are indeed essential for this dish, so don’t use mild bell peppers. The roasted and smoky garlic tastes heavenly, if you love the taste of roasted garlic, you can add more. The tomatoes are balancing this dish, but as they contain a lot of water, draining might be needed after grilling and cutting.
Preparing this salad contains three phases: grilling, peeling, and cutting. Below I have listed different grilling techniques with their pros and cons to help you choose the best method for you. The main point of grilling is to accomplish a smoky flavor in this dish. Char the vegetables as long as the skins are blackened. When the vegetables are entirely black, place the peppers inside the plastic bag and close it. This helps peppers to steam and cool down which makes peeling much easier. After peeling all the vegetables, we will cut those. You can use a fork and knife to make bigger chunks or mortar and pestle or food processor to make it smoother.
Choose the right cooking technique to grill the vegetables
Slata mechouia is a quite easy salad to make if you happen to own a gas oven or charcoal grill. I don’t own either of those, but with a little more effort you can succeed with a normal oven, frying pan, or electric grill. Here is a couple of side notes to help you choose the right cooking method for you.
Gas oven
The gas oven is the most used cooking method in Tunisia homes to prepare this dish. Vegetables are grilled in the flames of a gas oven. A very fast method that creates desired “burned” flavor into vegetables. After this peeling the vegetables is easy. Only negative thing is that oven is a bit messy after grilling.
Charcoal grill
Cooking the vegetables in a charcoal grill creates super delicious flavor in vegetables. This method is a bit slow and grilling makes you sweat (especially on hot summer days). So, this is not the best everyday method to make a grilled salad but it creates the best flavor.
Electric grill
During the summer I prefer to use this method. The outcome is very tasty but somehow the taste is missing a little bit of smokiness. The vegetables are cooked quite fast in an electric grill and peeling is also easy.
Frying pan
This method I use during the winter when the grill isn’t available. This is not the best cooking method to create this dish, but sometimes during the winter, I am craving for this dish. The vegetables are turning dark quite slowly and only a limited patch is fitting on the pan. Also, it takes time to cook them thoroughly. Unfortunately, peeling the vegetables after this method is a bit tricky and time-consuming.
Oven
With this method, I have had the most of the struggles! Maybe the problem is my oven but I also like to blame the peppers. I have tried many ways, to make the oven method work but I always find myself struggling to peel the peppers. Somehow the peppers dry out although I use a grill broiler in the oven. If you have any solution let me know! The good thing about the oven baking method is that you can roast a larger patch at the same time. Peeling the vegetables is a struggle but if you succeed in that, then grilled salad will be ready in no time.
Recipe for Slata Mechouia – Tunisian grilled pepper salad
Servings: 4 side dishes
Total preparation time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
7 Anaheim peppers
2 Tomatoes
½ garlic bulb
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
Optional Garnish:
1 big spoon of tuna, chunks
1 egg, hardboiled
A couple of olives or capers
How to make Tunisian grilled pepper salad:
- Wash and dry the peppers and tomatoes.
- Heat the grill or griddle pan*
- Place peppers, tomatoes, and a garlic bulb on the grill and get them really black on all sides.
- Once the vegetables are blackened and softened, set aside.
- While still hot, put the peppers into a plastic bag and close it. Let peppers steam and cool down for about 15 minutes. Then carefully peel off the black skin and remove the stalk and part of the pips.
- Peel the tomatoes cut them in half and remove the seeds.
- Let the garlic cool slightly, then squeeze out all the golden paste from every clove.
- When all the vegetables are peeled. Shred the vegetables into small pieces with a fork and knife or mash them with a food processor or mortar and pestle.
- Pour the shredded vegetables into the bowl and drizzle in a generous amount of olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.
- Garnish with tuna chunks, hardboiled eggs, and olives or capers.
*If you are using an oven, preheat the oven 250 degrees Celsius and turn the broiler on. Place the vegetables on the top part of the oven, close to the heat but not touching the broilers. Cook the vegetables until the skin is blackened.
