Tunisia at the Table – Food, Hospitality and the Flavours of Our Road Trip

When you think of a road trip through Tunisia, the first things that probably come to mind are desert landscapes, ancient medinas, Roman ruins and – in our case, of course – the filming locations of Star Wars. But there is something else that keeps claiming a starring role throughout a journey like this: food.

And we don't just mean what is on your plate.

Food in Tunisia is just as much about sitting down together, hospitality, and that wonderful moment when you arrive somewhere after a long day on the road and realise there is absolutely nothing left to organise. The cars are parked, the bags are taken to the rooms, and somewhere from the kitchen come smells that really only have one message:

Sit down. Dinner is on its way.

No tourist buffet – just eat what is being served

During our Tatooine Trails journey, we deliberately choose smaller, characterful places to stay. Not a succession of large international hotels, but places that actually tell you something about Tunisia.

A traditional dar on Djerba, an underground hotel in Matmata, an ancient ksar in the south or a tented camp on the edge of the Sahara.

And at places like these, food often works very differently from what we are used to back home.

You don't always get a menu with twenty different dishes and then spend the next 45 minutes deciding what to order. Quite often, the question is much simpler:

What are we having tonight?

Or actually, nobody asks the question at all.

They simply cook.

For the guests, for the family, for everyone who happens to be sitting around the table that evening. Sometimes several dishes appear at once, sometimes dinner comes in a number of courses, and sometimes one enormous steaming dish is placed in the middle of the table for everyone to share.

And to be honest, we think that might be even better.

Because at that moment, you're not just eating in Tunisia.

You're actually eating Tunisian.

Harissa: welcome to Tunisia

There's a good chance your first proper introduction to Tunisian food will start with bread.

And harissa.

Harissa is probably Tunisia's most famous condiment: a spicy paste made from red chilli peppers, often combined with garlic, spices and olive oil. Every kitchen seems to have its own version, and one harissa can be considerably more forgiving than another.

Dip in a piece of bread and you immediately know you've arrived somewhere very different.

Bread plays an important role at the Tunisian table anyway. It's used for dipping, soaking up sauces and eating small dishes. And before the main course has even appeared, the table can already be covered with bread, olives, salads and little starters.

That's one of the dangers of Tunisian dining: you think you've started dinner when, in reality, dinner hasn't even started yet.

Brik – crispy and dangerously delicious

One dish you're almost certain to encounter along the way is brik.

At first glance, it looks simple: an extremely thin sheet of pastry, filled and fried until crisp. A classic version contains egg, tuna, parsley and sometimes capers.

Eating it, however, is an art form.

The outside is crispy, the inside soft, and in a good brik the egg yolk remains partly runny. Which means that after the first bite, you immediately have to decide whether you're going to handle this elegantly or simply accept that you'll be wearing a little egg yolk on your shirt for the rest of the evening.

We suspect that during twelve days in Tunisia, we'll experience both versions.

Couscous is not a side dish here

And, of course, there is couscous.

Anyone who only knows couscous as a small pile sitting next to a piece of meat will quickly discover that in Tunisia, it's something entirely different. Couscous is a complete dish in its own right, with countless regional variations.

It can be served with chicken, lamb, beef, fish or vegetables. With chickpeas, potatoes, carrots, pumpkin and a rich, spicy sauce that slowly soaks into the couscous.

As we travel further south, the food often becomes more robust as well. Which makes perfect sense. In an environment where people have lived for centuries with heat, drought and enormous distances, a cuisine developed around nourishing ingredients and whatever was locally available.

And you can taste that history.

Tajine – but perhaps not the tajine you're expecting

Then there's Tunisian tajine.

If you've travelled in Morocco before, that word probably immediately brings to mind the famous earthenware pot with its conical lid.

In Tunisia, tajine can mean something completely different.

The Tunisian version is closer to a firm baked omelette or frittata, usually made with eggs, potatoes, cheese, herbs and meat. It's cut into pieces and can be eaten either hot or cold.

It's a perfect example of why it's worth looking beyond the dishes you already know. Tunisian cuisine has a character all of its own.

From the Mediterranean to the Sahara

One of the things that makes our journey so interesting is that over twelve days we travel through completely different parts of the country.

We begin on the Mediterranean, around Tunis, Carthage and Sidi Bou Said. Here, the influence of the coast is clearly reflected in the food. Fish and seafood are naturally more prominent, and at times the cuisine feels almost familiarly Mediterranean.

But then we continue further and further south.

Via Kairouan, El Djem and Matmata, it's not just the landscape that changes. The atmosphere around the dinner table changes too.

Inland and further south, you'll encounter more stews, grilled meats, couscous and simple dishes that have been slowly cooked. Lamb and chicken are common ingredients, while spices such as cumin, coriander and caraway give the food its distinctive aromas and flavours.

And everywhere, of course, there is olive oil.

Lots of olive oil.

Tunisia is one of the world's major olive-oil-producing countries for good reason. Along our route we'll pass vast olive groves, and on Djerba we'll even encounter impressive ancient olive trees.

So that bottle of olive oil sitting on the table quite literally has its roots in the landscape we're driving through.

Arriving to find the table already being set

But perhaps our favourite part of Tunisian food culture isn't a particular dish at all.

It's the hospitality.

During our previous journey, we noticed how naturally food forms part of welcoming guests. Especially at smaller accommodations, it sometimes feels less like arriving at a hotel and more like arriving at someone's home.

You may have driven hundreds of kilometres that day. There's sand and dust on your shoes, your memory cards are full of photographs, and you've probably already said three times that this really was the most beautiful location of the day.

Then you arrive.

You're shown to your rooms.

Someone might ask if you'd like some tea.

And meanwhile, somebody is cooking.

Not because there's a restaurant reservation for 7:30 p.m. stored somewhere in a computer system, but simply because there are guests.

And guests need to eat.

It sounds like a small difference.

But it feels like a big one.

Mint tea, coffee and, above all, time

There isn't always a rush after dinner either.

Tea is an important part of social life. Often sweet, sometimes with mint, sometimes with pine nuts or other local additions. Coffee is equally easy to find, from small, strong cups to varieties that reflect just how many cultures have left their mark on Tunisia over the centuries.

And perhaps that's one of the biggest differences compared with grabbing a quick meal on the road back home.

Food isn't an interruption to the day.

It is part of the day.

You stay seated for a while. People talk. Someone pours another glass of tea. Outside, darkness slowly falls. A few lights glow in the courtyard and somewhere in the distance you hear voices coming from the kitchen.

We'll continue driving tomorrow.

And then, of course, there's the desert

One of the moments we're particularly looking forward to is our overnight stay at Ksar Ghilane.

After days in which the landscape becomes increasingly dry and empty, we eventually arrive on the edge of the Sahara. Here we'll sleep in tents, and even dinner takes on a completely different atmosphere.

Because food simply tastes different when you're not looking through a restaurant window, but can literally look out across the desert after dinner.

During the day there is sun, sand and heat. In the evening, the air cools and the desert completely changes character.

Eating together in a place like this isn't a luxury dining experience in the traditional sense.

It's better than that.

It's a memory.

Not everything has to be familiar

Of course, we know that not everyone is equally adventurous when it comes to food.

And no, joining Tatooine Trails doesn't mean you suddenly have to enthusiastically order something when you have absolutely no idea what's going to appear on your plate.

But we do hope everyone will try something new every now and then.

A piece of brik.

A spoonful of harissa – perhaps a small one to start with.

A Tunisian salad.

A stew whose name you've forgotten again five minutes later.

A dessert that turns out to be much sweeter than expected.

Or that glass of tea that makes you wonder whether someone accidentally emptied half the sugar bowl into it.

That's part of travelling.

Together around the table

During Tatooine Trails, we'll spend twelve days travelling through Tunisia. We'll visit places that for years we only knew from the big screen. We'll drive along highways, smaller roads and through landscapes that sometimes appear to have barely changed since George Lucas brought his cameras here.

But in the end, some of our best memories may not be created at a famous filming location at all.

Perhaps they'll happen in the evening.

When the SUVs are parked outside.

The cameras and phones are charging.

The dust of the day is slowly disappearing from our shoes.

And we're all sitting around a long table while yet another dish emerges from the kitchen – and nobody is entirely sure what's in it.

Someone tears off a piece of bread.

The harissa gets passed around.

People laugh.

And before we know it, someone is asking if we'd like some more.

That is Tatooine Trails too.

It's not just about visiting the places where Star Wars was filmed.

It's about spending twelve days travelling through the country that gave Tatooine its landscapes, architecture, colours – and even its name.

And perhaps the best way to get to know that country is simply to pull up a chair and join the table.