Mechoui - BBQ Lamb Roadside Extravaganza, Tunisia

Landed for a week with my brother, sister-in-law and nephew in Tunisia. My brother picked me up from the airport in the evening and we stopped for mechoui at a roadside barbecue on the way to his home in Kelibia.

A guy ushered us into a parking space. We then went to the butcher's counter (rather rough and ready compared to the UK or France), to select the cuts we wanted grilled. Bits of sheep were hanging up and barbecue smoke wafter around. It was still very hot outside, and already dark. We chose some kind of rib section, a few merguez sausages and a bit of liver.

Loads of families were eating mechuoi at plastic tables on a terrace set back from the main road. I sat at a table while my brother waited at the barbecue area with our big metal bowl of raw goodies. 'Salade mechoui' arrived ('mechoui' just means grilled, but implies 'over charcoal'), which is minced chargrilled peppers and tomatoes with loads of gorgeous olive oil. It came with flatbread to eat it with (no cutlery provided) and a bottle of water. No booze available here. There was a juice stand next to us, selling virgin fruit cocktails and mint tea.

Eventually, our meat got its turn on the grill. It arrived all crispy and had been dipped in a salt and cumin mix before its roasting, so was absolutely deeelicious. So tasty! So juicy! We ate an enormous quantity. I was still very full after more than an hour on the road, but still wished for a little taster more mechoui before bed.

Here I Go Again

Hi there.

Well, last year my meals could have been inspiring to anyone working 9 - 5 (and enduring massive commutes) in London. I did well with limited time to cook most things fresh and from scratch with a good variety and plenty of adventure - plus the odd meal out. I obviously should have done a dinner diary for 2015, which is precisely why I decided to keep one for 2016. But this year started off strangely, as I was splitting from a long-term partner, then living with my parents for a while, before moving back to France for the summer. That didn't last, as my lovely mummy died in early June, so I was back at my parents' again for a while. Being there means less meal control, more of my Dad's (very good) cooking, plus we were doing a lot of quick stuff as we didn't have the heart to make much effort. We did have some nice salads and meals though.

HOWEVER, I've just got back from a week in Tunisia, and the food was so inspiring and so damn tasty, that I feel the urge to record it ALL. I'm now back in France and have found that I want to keep a note of what I'm eating here as well, so it seems I might be getting back into my dinner diary habit...

This was written on the 20th July, but I've posted for the 11th, so that it's in sequence with the subsequent Tunisia posts.