Salade Méchouia (Tunisian Grilled Pepper and Tomato Salad)

Ingredients

• 4 green bell pepper
• 2 red bell pepper
• 4 tomato
• 2 fresh chilli
• 4 garlic, unpeeled
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 canned tuna, drained and flaked
• 2 egg, hard-boiled and quartered
• 60 g black olives
• 1 tbsp capers, rinsed

Method

1. 1.

   Char the vegetables over flame — Lay the peppers, chillies, tomatoes and unpeeled garlic straight on a hot charcoal grill or over a gas flame, turning with tongs until the skins blister and blacken in patches all over. The peppers take 15-20 minutes; the tomatoes and garlic are done sooner, so lift each one as it is ready.

2. 2.

   Steam the peppers loose — Pile the peppers and chillies into a bowl and cover with a plate for 10 minutes. The trapped steam loosens the skins so they slip off in sheets.

3. 3.

   Peel and seed everything — Peel everything: slip the pepper skins away, pull out the stalks and seeds, squeeze the seeds out of the tomatoes and pop the garlic from its papery skins. Resist rinsing anything under the tap — that washes the smoke straight down the drain.

4. 4.

   Pound the spice paste — Toast the caraway seeds and ground coriander in a dry pan for 30 seconds, then crush them in a mortar with the roasted garlic and the salt until you have a rough, fragrant paste.

5. 5.

   Chop and dress the salad — Chop the pepper and tomato flesh on a board with a knife until you have a coarse, spoonable relish — never a purée, because the whole character of méchouia lives in the uneven pieces. Fold it into the spice paste with the olive oil and lemon juice.

6. 6.

   Chill until it comes together — Chill for 30 minutes. The salad tastes flat straight off the grill and only comes together once cold, when the smoke and caraway push forward.

7. 7.

   Top with tuna and olives — Spread the salad over a shallow platter, scatter the flaked tuna, quartered eggs, olives and capers on top and finish with a thread of olive oil. Serve with plenty of bread.