LaGatta, that sounds so good! I really like the touch of putting in boiled potatoes.
As you know, the cultural line between Tunisia and Sicily can be blurred. Thus, I'm adding these tuna sandwiches to this thread, if that's okay with you. (If you object, let me know please, & I'll remove them.)
SicilianTuna Salad 1 can Albacore tuna packed in water
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/8 lemon peel
1/8 inch slice of red onion, chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
fresh ground black pepper, about 3 turns
Squeeze the juice of half a lemon on the tuna. Cut off about 1/8 of the lemon peel and slice the peel into thin strips, then cut the strips crosswise into tiny bits. Add the peel to the tuna. (You don’t just want lemon zest, you want the entire peel) Add chopped onion. Drizzle with about 1 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add pepper. Mix well.
Source: blogs.dailyrecord.com/italianfood/2010/04/12/sicilian-tuna-salad/======================================================
If you google 'sicilian tuna sandwich', Tom Colicchio of
'wichcraft in San Francisco comes up over and over again. Here is his recipe. The lemon confit would certainly be a Tunisian touch, I'd say.
Sicilian tuna sandwich by Tom Colicchio Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
For the salad
• 2 ea.12-oz Italian canned tuna (available at the specialty food stores), drained
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons red onion, diced fine
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 1 teaspoon Sicilian dried oregano (also available at specialty food stores, if not then regular oregano will be fine)
For the sandwich
• 1 freshly baked baguette
• 1 full recipe of the tuna salad above
• 1 bulb of fennel, shaved thinly and tossed with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons of chopped nicoise olives (pitted)
• 16 slices lemon confit (recipe follows).
• Green fennel fronds for garnish
For the lemon confit
• 4 lemons
• 2 shallots, peeled and minced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 1/8 cup sugar
• Extra-virgin olive oil
DIRECTIONS
Salad
Mix ingredients. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Sandwich
Split baguette lengthwise. Layer ingredients from the bottom up in the order above. Drizzle some of the oil from the lemon confit on the top piece of the baguette. Cut into 4 equal pieces and serve.
For the lemon confit
Plunge the lemons into boiling water (this softens the outer layer of wax). Drain, rinse, and wipe the lemons clean. Dry the lemons, then slice them very thinly. Discard the ends and remove and discard the seeds.
Combine the shallots with the garlic. Mix the salt and sugar. Arrange a layer of lemon slices in the bottom of a midsize container with a lid. Sprinkle the lemons first with a little shallot mixture, then with some of the salt mixture. Repeat, layering lemons and sprinkling them with the shallot and salt mixtures until the final lemon slices are topped with the last of the salt and shallot mixtures. Cover the container and refrigerate the confit for three days. It can be used immediately or covered with olive oil and stored in the refrigerator for about a month.
Source: today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21996461/=======================================================
And this one says it was "inspired by" the sandwich above. The recipe makes 8 -- 10 sandwiches.
Tuna, Lemon, Fennel, and Black-olive Salad on Sourdough Rolls * 1 small lemon
* 1/2 bulb fennel, stalks trimmed
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 8 to 10 sourdough or French bread rolls
* 30 ounces oil-packed tuna, drained (see Notes)
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 tablespoon chopped brined capers
* 1/4 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
* 1/4 cup roughly chopped dill
1. Slice lemon very thinly using a knife or mandoline. Quarter lemon slices, removing any remaining seeds. Very thinly slice fennel bulb the same way. In a medium bowl, toss together lemon, fennel, and salt and let sit 20 minutes.
2. Slice rolls in half lengthwise. Scoop out about 3/4 of the bread from the top and bottom halves to create pockets; save scooped-out bread for another use, such as bread crumbs, if you like.
3. In a medium bowl, toss together tuna, olive oil, capers, olives, and dill. Gently stir in lemon-fennel mixture. Fill sourdough roll bottoms with salad, dividing evenly, and set tops on salad.
Source: find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1622416
