Epic Dinner...mechouia, coucha, tagine, farka...Tunisia!

Ah I have been looking forward to and planning this for it seems weeks, but it's finally the day, Tunisia!  The menu is a three course meal...(yes I really am that crazy).  We are going to start with brik a l'ouef, harrisa, olive oil and roasted garlic with bread and a mechouia salad, there will be some olives as well on the table to nibble on, this is known as meze, small dishes and is popular in the Mediteranian, I'm also throwing in a non traditional Tunisian dish made with ham, cheese and puff pastry.  We are then following this up with koucha, chicken tagine, and couscous, finally to finish the meal we are going to have farka.  So what exactly are these dishes?

Brik a l'oeuf is a deep fried package of pastry (a cross between phylo and egg roll wrappers), as you cannot get the pastry for these in the US I'm substituting egg roll wrappers, inside the pastry is tuna wrapped around an egg, these are then deep fried in oil (oh so not healthy but a traditional starter).  Harissa is a condiment made from hot peppers, garlic, olive oil and caraway seed, at least that's my version :)  And the final starter is mechouia salad, this is a roasted pepper and eggplant dish, and yes it contains spicier peppers along with bell peppers. 

Koucha/coucha, I've seen is spelled with both a k and a c is mainly lamb roasted in a low oven in a clay earthenware pot.  The lamb has been rubbed with paprika, cayenne, thyme and rosemary.  The clay pot is sealed and the lamb cooks in it's own juices.  I'm so looking forward to this dish it's not even funny.  Tagine is fairly basic chicken cooked with tomatoes, onions, garlic and a few other spices.  To go with the tagine and koucha I'm making up some couscous that will have some spices and the addition of tangerines, and to help cool things down I'll add a dollop of yogurt as well, (alright I forgot the yogurt).

The finale will be farka which is a dish made from couscous, dates and nuts served with warm milk and sugar.  I guess it's like a version of rice pudding.  I actually made the first dish on Saturday, Sunday I had a day off then started cooking around 6 am...yep you read that right 6 am!  That's not to say I've been working my butt off because I've had a lot of time in between courses and dishes to sit and chill and give the girls a nap.

Dinner overall was successful!  Most items were well received and the surprising hit was the harrisa.