Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Tunisia recipes, part of the African Continent. This page provides links to all the Tunisian recipes presented on this site, with 35 recipes in total.

Tunisia ((Arabic: تونس‎ Tūnisiyya); officially: الجمهورية التونسية‎ al-Jumhūriyya at-Tūnisiyya; [The Tunisian Republic] It is the northernmost African country and the smallest of the nations situated along the Atlas mountain range. Tunisia is the land of the famous Phoenician city of Carthage, which after its conquest and utter destruction became the 'African Province' of Rome and Rome's bread basket. The majority (98%) of modern Tunisians are Arab, and are speakers of Tunisian Arabic. However, there is also a small (1% at most) population of Berbers located in the Jabal Dahar mountains in the South East and on the island of Jerba. The Berbers primarily speak Berber languages, often called Shelha. The other long-established community in the country is Jewish (today mainly in the capital Tunis and on Jerba), much reduced in number since independence from France.

Along with Morocco and Algeria, Tunisia forms part of the Maghreb region of North Africa and the basis for Tunisian cookery is Maghrebi cuisine. However, Tunisian cuisine has been significantly influenced by Mediterranean cookery. Through the use of spices and seasonings, Tunisians give their dishes a certain distinctive flavour that may be traced to the neighbouring cultures. Tunisia is culinarily rich and fresh fish, lamb, couscous and olives form a significant part of the diet. Spices and peppers tend to play a very central role in overall cuisine. In this respect, Tunisian food is much like other North African cuisines; it is quite spicy and hot. Hot peppers play a key role in tying a meal together; a bland meal is considered by most Tunisians to be a bad one. Also, most dishes are heavily spiced with a variety of seasonings such as bay leaves, cumin, caraway, saffron, cumin, cinnamon, and mint. In the eyes of Tunisians, usage of seasonings in meals adds to its flavour and overall quality.

Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, (الجمهورية التونسية [al-Jumhūriyyah at-Tūnisiyyah] in Arabic) is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a part of the Maghreb region of North Africa, bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares maritime borders with Italy through the islands of Sicily and Sardinia to the north and Malta to the east. It features the archaeological sites of Carthage dating back to the 9th century BC, as well as the Great Mosque of Kairouan. Known for its ancient architecture, souks, and blue coasts, it covers 163,610 km2 (63,170 sq mi), and has a population of 12.1 million. It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern reaches of the Sahara desert; much of its remaining territory is arable land. Its 1,300 km (810 mi) of coastline includes the African conjunction of the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Basin. Tunisia is home to Africa's northernmost point, Cape Angela. Located on the northeastern coast, Tunis is the capital and largest city of the country, which is itself named after Tunis. The official language of Tunisia is Modern Standard Arabic. The vast majority of Tunisia's population is Arab and Muslim. Vernacular Tunisian Arabic is the most spoken, and French also serves as an administrative and educational language in some contexts, but it has no official status.

Beginning in early antiquity, Tunisia was inhabited by the indigenous Berbers. The Phoenicians, a Semitic people, began to arrive in the 12th century BC, settling on the coast and establishing several settlements, of which Carthage emerged as the most powerful by the 7th century BC. The descendants of the Phoenician settlers came to be known as the Punic people. Ancient Carthage was a major mercantile empire and a military rival to the Roman Republic until 146 BC when it was defeated by the Romans who occupied Tunisia for most of the next 800 years. The Romans introduced Christianity and left architectural legacies like the Amphitheatre of El Jem. In the 7th century AD, Arab Muslims conquered Tunisia and settled with their tribes and families, bringing Islam and Arab culture. A later large-scale Arab migration of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym tribes in the 11th-12th centuries accelerated this process. By around the 15th century, the region of modern-day Tunisia had already been almost completely Arabized. Then, in 1546, the Ottoman Empire established control, holding sway until 1881, when the French conquered Tunisia. In 1956, Tunisia gained independence as the Tunisian Republic. Today, Tunisia's culture and identity are rooted in this centuries-long intersection of different cultures and ethnicities.

In 2011, the Tunisian Revolution, which was triggered by dissatisfaction with the lack of freedom and democracy under the 24-year rule of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, overthrew his regime and catalyzed the broader Arab Spring movement across the region. Free multiparty parliamentary elections were held shortly thereafter; the country again voted for parliament on 26 October 2014, and for president on 23 November 2014. From 2014 to 2020, it was considered the only democratic state in the Arab world, according to the The Economist Democracy Index. After a democratic backsliding, Tunisia is rated a hybrid regime. It is one of the few countries in Africa ranking high on the Human Development Index, with one of the highest per capita incomes on the continent, ranking 129th in GDP per capita income.

The word Tunisia is derived from Tunis; a central urban hub and the capital of modern-day Tunisia. The present form of the name, with its Latinate suffix -ia, evolved from French Tunisie, in turn generally associated with the Berber root ⵜⵏⵙ, transcribed tns, which means 'to lay down' or 'encampment. It is sometimes also associated with the Carthage goddess Tanith (or Tunit), and the ancient city of Tynes.

The French derivative Tunisie was adopted in some European languages with slight modifications, introducing a distinctive name to designate the country. Other languages have left the name untouched, such as the Russian Туни́с (Tunís) and Spanish Túnez. In this case, the same name is used for both country and city, as with the Arabic تونس, and only by context can one tell the difference.

In English, Tunisia before independence was also often called simply 'Tunis', a name that persisted until the 1940s; under French influence, the neologism 'Tunisia', adapted from Tunisie, gradually took hold. The adjective 'Tunisian' first appeared in English in 1825; the previous adjectival form was 'Tunisine'.

Tunisian Cuisine

Tunisian cuisine is a blend of Mediterranean cuisine and desert dweller's culinary traditions. Its distinctive spicy fieriness comes from neighbouring Mediterranean countries and the many civilizations who have ruled Tunisian land: Phoenician, Roman, Arab, Turkish, French, and the native Berber people. Tunisian food uses a variety of ingredients and in different ways. The main dish that is served in Tunisia is Couscous, made of minuscule grains that are cooked and usually served with meat and vegetables. In cooking they also use a variety of flavours such as: olive oil, aniseed, coriander, cumin, caraway, cinnamon, saffron, mint, orange blossom, and rose water.

Many of the cooking styles and utensils began to take shape when the ancient tribes were nomads. Nomadic people were limited in their cooking by what locally made pots and pans they could carry with them. A tagine is the name of a conical-lidded pot, and today a dish cooked in this pot is also called a tagine.

Unlike other North African cuisine, Tunisian food is quite spicy. A popular condiment and ingredient which is used extensively Tunisian cooking, harissa is a hot red pepper sauce made of red chilli peppers and garlic, flavoured with coriander, cumin, olive oil and often tomatoes. There is an old wives' tale that says a husband can judge his wife's affections by the amount of hot peppers she uses when preparing his food. If the food becomes bland then a man may believe that his wife no longer loves him. However, when the food is prepared for guests the hot peppers are often toned down to suit the possibly more delicate palate of the visitor. Like harissa or chilli peppers, the tomato is also an ingredient that cannot be separated from the cuisine of Tunisia. Tuna, eggs, olives and various varieties of pasta, cereals, herbs and spices are also ingredients which are featured prominently in Tunisian cooking.