My Preserved Lemon Obsession, Part II: Tunisian Sandwich with Homemade Harissa

 

My obsession with preserved lemons began here, and it came about thanks to a job I got working in the kitchen of a vegan cafe. I was tasked with coming up with a sandwich, and rather than settle for yet another incarnation of the ubiquitous veggie wrap, I wanted to make something surprising.  Something different. Something just bursting with seasoning and spices - something that,  let's face it,  you don't always find at a vegan eatery.

And then I read about the Tunisian sandwich. Now, a traditional Tunisian sandwich contains tuna and egg - obviously not vegan. But I thought that the other ingredients that are often used - potatoes, capers, black olives, harissa, and of course, preserved lemon - sounded as if they'd hold up pretty well on their own.

Oh my. Not only do they hold up, they positively sing. That may sound dramatic, but the flavor combinations in this sandwich  - spicy, salty, savory, buttery, tangy - are so balanced and so incredibly satisfying, that even the carnivores I tested it out on wanted seconds.

Truth be told, my job at that cafe only lasted one day. Let's just say I found the schedule, overall approach, and, most importantly ...  attitude towards hygiene less than ideal. Oh well. No hard feelings - without that job, I may never have discovered this sandwich, and frankly I can't imagine my life without preserved lemon!

Making your own harissa saves a bundle of money, and lets you control the spice level. I didn't make mine as fiery as I usually would, because I was testing the sandwich out on a bunch of people, and I didn't want to alienate anyone with my pepper-head tendencies.  So adjust accordingly.  This makes enough for a bundle of sandwiches - store the extra in a jar with a little olive oil on top to keep it from drying out.

For the harissa:
7 dried & seeded New Mexico Chiles

5 dried & seeded chiles de arbol

1 tsp coriander seeds, ground

1 tsp caraway seeds, ground

2 tbsp garlic

2-3 tbsp olive oil

Soak the chiles in hot water for about 30 minutes until they're soft. Pat dry. 

Whiz everything together  in a food processor until you achieve a paste-like consistency.

For the sandwich you'll need (this makes two 6" sandwiches with some filling left over):

4 medium Yukon gold potatoes

handful of capers

handful of pitted Nicoise olives

2 tbsp preserved lemon

olive oil

one 12" French baguette

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Boil, peel and chop the potatoes into chunks.  Mix in the preserved lemon and about a tbsp of olive oil; add salt and pepper to taste. Remove some of the crumb of the baguette to create a space for your potato filling. Drizzle olive oil on one side, and generous amounts of harissa on the other. Next just add the potatoes, and top with capers and pitted Nicoise olives.

While you can certainly choose to include tuna and hard boiled eggs to make a more traditional version, I promise that you won't miss the meat in this hearty sandwich!