Kafteji
“Mixed deep-fried vegetables (potatoes, zucchini, peppers, onion) chopped fine on a wooden board with hard-boiled eggs and tomato, dressed with harissa, olive oil, and caraway — served on a plate with extra bread and merguez on the side. Tunis street-food and the working family's quick weeknight dinner.”
Where it comes from
Kafteji's name comes from the Arabic-Turkish 'kafte' (chopped) — the dish is the working-Tunis quick meal that's a slightly different format from salata mechouia: vegetables are fried rather than charred, and chopping happens at the time of plating. Tunis old-city stalls serve kafteji on a metal tray with bread and a fried egg on top. Modern home kitchens skip the deep-fry and roast the vegetables instead for a lighter version.
On the plate
Spoon brings up softly-chopped fried vegetables — potato is creamy, pepper is sweet-roasted, zucchini almost melting, onion caramelized-sweet — bound by harissa-spiced olive oil. The hard-boiled egg adds protein richness and yellow color through the dish. Squeeze of lemon brightens. Bread mops the oil-spiced sauce at the bottom. Tunis working-family weeknight in a plate.
How it works
Frying each vegetable separately accounts for different cooking times — combining them in one fry would leave some raw and some burnt. Potatoes need longest because of their density; chiles fry fastest. Adding raw tomatoes during the chop introduces moisture and a fresh-acid note that brightens the otherwise-fried collection. The chopping itself releases the vegetable juices and integrates everything into a cohesive hash.
Variations
Vegetarian kafteji skips the merguez side. Bizerte coastal kafteji adds canned tuna chopped into the mix. Tunis north-side kafteji adds capers and olives. Modern lighter version oven-roasts the vegetables instead of deep-frying.
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓40 min active · 20 min waiting
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓- 110 min
Cut vegetables: 3 medium potatoes peeled and cut into 2-cm dice; 2 medium zucchini cut into 2-cm dice; 2 red bell peppers cut into 2-cm pieces; 2 green peppers cut into 2-cm pieces; 1 large onion cut into wedges; 3-4 green chiles (jalapeño size) halved.
- 24 min
Heat 4 cm sunflower oil in a heavy pot to 175°C.
- 322 min
Fry vegetables in batches by type, since each cooks at different rates: potatoes 6-7 min, zucchini 3-4 min, peppers 3 min, onion 2-3 min, chiles 90 sec. Drain on paper towels and salt lightly.
- 412 min
Hard-boil 4 eggs; cool, peel.
- 55 min
On a large wooden board: pile all the fried vegetables. Add 2 chopped fresh tomatoes (raw, deseeded). Add the hard-boiled eggs.
- 64 min
Using a sharp knife (mezzaluna or chef's), chop everything together to small pieces, mixing as you go — should take 3-4 minutes of vigorous chopping. The result is a soft, slightly chunky vegetable hash.
- 72 min
Move to a serving plate. Drizzle with 4 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp harissa (stirred in) + juice of 1 lemon + 1 tsp ground caraway + ½ tsp salt + ½ tsp pepper.
- 83 min
Toss together. Adjust salt. Plate with thick-sliced bread, a fried egg on top of the mound, and optional 2 grilled merguez sausages on the side.
