An easy-to-make, excellent-to-eat taste of the southern Mediterranean
One of my favorite evening meals, this is a simple dish that I learned in Tunisia when I first went to visit my friends Majid and Onsa Mahjoub! Their hospitality was terrific. I came home with enormous appreciation for the complex and rich culture of Tunisia and the compelling nature of its cuisine! Very different from Moroccan cooking to the west and Egyptian to the east, Tunisian cuisine has a whole host of terrific dishes in which the Mahjoub family’s fantastic products all shine. Sun-dried harissa, hand rolled organic couscous, extra virgin olive oil made from the family’s Chetoui varietal olives … all are amazing.
This spicy spaghetti is a good example of the southern Italian influence on Tunisia. Start with great artisan spaghetti like Mancini, Rustichella, or Gentile. All the long pasta we have on hand at the Deli will work well. You’ll also want a good tomato sauce. Either make your own with some of the great canned tomatoes we have (Miragallo, Bianco DiNapoli, Gentile), or use one of the bottled sauces we have from Miragallo or Il Mongetto. Heat the sauce and stir in a good bit of the marvelous sun-dried harissa the Mahjoubs make. I like a lot, but if you’re more sensitive to heat, then use just a small bit.
Meanwhile, prep the seafood. Cubes of fresh tuna or swordfish work really well. Same goes for fresh squid, shrimp, or scallops. Sauté them in olive oil with a pinch of sea salt until they’re just barely cooked through. Then add the hot tomato sauce to the pan and let it all come together. If you want to try it with tinned fish, try sardines, tuna, mussels, or octopus from the Deli’s wonderful tinned fish selection. I like to mix together more than one to get a bit of diversity of flavor and texture into the dish. When the pasta is al dente, take it out with tongs and add it to the pan with sauce. Toss well and cook another minute or two so the pasta absorbs the sauce. Quick and easy to make, wonderful to eat. Serve with some extra harissa and olive oil on the side.
Tunisians seem to eat this dish a lot. This spicy spaghetti is one of Majid’s favorites. “What I like,” he told me, “is the subtle combination between the very high-quality ingredients and healthy products. This dish—like couscous—summarizes all the healthy Mediterranean culinary art!”
