Mermez - a Tunisian Lamb Stew
Obviously when visiting the Sahara, replenish water for your caravane du desert at Douz's oasis. Rest at Zaafrane, la porte del desert, enjoy a feast of a Bedouin fare and a nights slumber in a tent beneath a magic carpet of Tunisian stars and as sleep becomes you listen to the chatter of Berber from around the campfire and the braying of donkeys and grunting and groaning of the camels and dream of venturing vers la desert to find a your vide.
Following the ancient El Jem amphitheatre (as filmed in Gladiator), one slogs on to Matmata to visit the troglodytes and one marvels how these people live in these houses dug then carved out from terrific holes, some the length of a cricket pitch down into the ground. Cool in Summer and hot in Winter they are a terrific idea unless it rains a lot, or if you want Wi-Fi or an aerial to watch TV. Such were Filmed in Star Wars' apparently. Few live in these premises nowadays. The old pass on, the younger move away. Some were resettled it's said. Even if benign, bureaucracy fears tribalism . I though fear the future will be homogeneous, without distinction of place, we risk losing dialect and if fare is a regional tongue then what it says of the people will also become forgotten. C'est desole.
Here though at Matmata in an underground (troglodyte) restaurant I ate this rather fab; lamb, chickpea, and carrot dish, known locally as 'Mermez', I have searched in vain for this recipe for so long forsaking it's correct name, Eventually I found it on 'You Tube' in Arabic, and only in Arabic. And none the worse, I say for that. So I'm pleased to in my own small way to share this recipe as worthy it is. Lovely 'Harisa du Cap Bon' a chilli paste from the Tunisian region of 'Cap Bon' gives it a lovely kick, You'll find Harissa contained in what looks like toothpaste tubes, (look for it in an ethnic shops. You can buy it Asdas but search for the real thing). Just squeeze out a bit of harissa and mix with a little olive oil and bring it to life.
Sometimes one considers how food evokes a sense of times past and eating this I am revisiting memories of wonderful Tunisia, prior to the Arab Spring, Yes, March 1992, (helpfully stamped on the rear of the photograph below of Andrea) at Zaafrane.
If you ever go to Tunisia, don't just sit on a beach, get on a train and enjoy bustling and modern Tunis and it's souks and the awe inspiring Bardo Museum, use the tram and visit Phoenician and Roman Carthage. Take a louage (a car or bus that leaves when full of passengers to it's destination) to Hammermet, Sousse, sacred Kairouan; apparently going there seven times is the equivalent of visiting Mecca once... El Jem, Matmata, Douz and the desert. Oh the desert.
matmata
Zaafrane Douz la porte del desert