Tunisian Sandwich: Givin’ Vegetarians Some Lovin’ at the Super Bowl Party

Two-Bite Tunisian Sandwich

I am not a football fan, but now that the chips fell where they did and the Super Bowl will pit the Seattle Seahawks against the Denver Broncos, it is time for party planning fun. By party planning, I mean the menu. I am answering a challenge to come up with a finger food for the Super Bowl that is fit for the fete.

If you are hardcore, all-about-watching-the-game football enthusiast, who buys three types of chips and three types of dips to go with beer and calls it a party, stop reading. But if your saliva glands go into overdrive by the mere mention of the epithet Super Bowl as you conjure the traditional meat-laden spicy fair of chili con carne and chicken wings, I beg: what about us vegetarians? Yes, we can gorge on chips and guacamole to our hearts’ content, but it would be nice to have something that resembles a meal. Can I convince you to add something delicious and quite simple to make?

To simplify things for the busy host, that something would be a finger food   assembled from mostly store-bought ingredients. Because I am vegetarian, I decided to go with a small sandwich that would provide appropriate substitute to meat. But also be similarly spicy as the food usually served at Super Bowl parties. What I came up with is a two-bite Tunisian sandwich.

Traditional Tunisian sandwich incorporates hot pepper sauce, preserved tuna, hard-boiled eggs, warm boiled potato, crunchy vegetables, preserved lemon, some add olives and capers. The crusty bread is crunchy and soft. I used home made preserved lemons, seared tuna, boiled eggs, and baked potatoes. The rest of the ingredients I bought in the market.  I baked bite size rolls from Tribes-A-Dozen’s Voilà! Hallah Traditional. You can buy small rolls, ciabatta or other crusty bread. Any sandwich should qualify as finger food, so feel free to create as big a sandwich as your heart desires.

Tunisian Sandwich, deconstructed

I smeared the bottom half of the roll with harissa and piled layer upon layer of the other ingredients to be capped by a smeared half roll. The small two-bite sandwich became a tower of delicious goodness held intact by a toothpick. To eat, one must open big and bite through the several layers of ingredients, which will be all smooshed together to then burst in small explosions of textures and flavors all at once tart, bitter, mildly sweet and pungent. And, for extra crunch, shove a few chips somewhere in there. Just make sure your host is not watching and remember to take out the toothpick.  . If your team lost, at least you would have had some good spicy food.  Go…whomever!

Voilà! Hallah Rolls

Two-Bite Tunisian Sandwich

Makes 24

Ingredients

1 Voilà! Hallah Traditional Egg Bread Mix

Or 24 small rolls

2 lbs. tuna steaks, seared to preference

6 medium Yukon Gold, baked

6 large eggs, boiled

12 mini sweet peppers, grilled or sautéed in olive oil

¼ cup harissa*

48 black Moroccan olives

⅓ capers, drained

¼ preserved lemon, minced

Parsley, 24 clusters of leaves

1 lemon, halved

Olive oil

Black pepper and salt, to taste

*Harissa, a North African red pepper sauce, and preserved lemon are available at specialty food markets.

 

Directions

 Place the washed and scrubbed potatoes in a covered baking dish and bake for 1 hour in 425° F.

 If baking from a Voilà! Hallah mix, prepare as directed on the box. Instead of shaping into a loaf, divide the dough into 24 balls. After brushing with egg wash sprinkle with cracked black pepper and some sea salt. Let rise and continue as instructed. Rolls can be prepared in advance and frozen.

 Place eggs in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer, cook for 10 minutes and turn off the flame. Cover and let sit to cool.  Grill or sear the tuna steaks with olive oil in a cast iron skillet to desired degree of doneness. Grill or sauté the mini peppers in olive oil. Cut lengthwise in half and discard the seeds and any charred skin. Cut the potatoes and the eggs across into ¼ inch slices.  Cut the tuna steaks across into thin strips

 To assemble, cut the rolls crosswise in half. Spread the bottom piece with harissa, sprinkle with a bit of preserved lemon. Lay a slice of tuna sprinkle with few drops of lemon and few capers. Then place a slice of egg, sprinkle with salt, a piece of sweet pepper and parsley.  On top, put a slice of potato, squeeze few drops of lemon and sprinkle with salt and cracked pepper. Then put two halved olives. Cap the sandwich with the other half of the roll smeared with harissa and some preserved lemon.  Stick a toothpick to keep it together. This is only a suggestion and you may assemble the ingredients in the order you wish. Enjoy!

©2014 Tribes-A-Dozen, by Leah