Tunisian Fricasse Sandwich

I remembered this sandwich the other day when I was staring at a pita bread and a tin of tuna and wondering what to make myself for lunch. It’s the kind of sandwich you never forget: a little fragrant spice from the harissa, saltiness from the tuna and olives, and a lovely comforting richness from the potato and egg. And it takes less than 12 minutes to whizz up using stuff that most of us have sitting in our fridges. This is traditionally eaten in a deep-fried bun similar to an unsweetened doughnut, but I’ve lightened it up with pita. A hot dog bun or brioche bun would be great too.

ingredients

serves 4

6 baby potatoes or 2 medium, cut into large chunks
2 medium eggs
4 tsp olive oil
8 black or green olives, pitted and halved
2 tbsp chopped cucumber pickle (or any veg pickle) or preserved lemon
A small handful of parsley, roughly chopped
2 tbsp mayonnaise (optional)
1 tin of tuna, approx 80-100g, drained
Harissa, to taste (or any hot sauce is fine)
2 pita breads
Pickled chilli, to serve

instructions

Place the potatoes and eggs in a pan of salted cold water, set your timer for 15 minutes and bring to the boil. Remove the eggs at 12 minutes, run under cold water and after 15, check that the potatoes are tender before draining.

Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and use a fork to roughly crush. Add the oil, olives, chopped pickles and parsley and season generously. Stir in some mayo if you fancy.

Peel and thickly slice the eggs. Warm up the pita in the toaster, then slice in half to make 2 pockets. Spread both sides in harissa, as thickly as you dare, then add the slices of egg and pile in the potato mix. Flake over the tuna, and top with a pickled chilli. Devour in seconds.