The fried rolls of Tunisian fricassee
Looking for an excuse to fry something other than latkes? Try these doughy treats
Shira Buzelan, an olah from Montreal, lives in Maale Adumim with her husband and five children. Combining her love of Israel and passion for food, Shira strives to incorporate locally grown and produced foods in her cooking style, highlighting the bounty of the land.
I was still living in Canada when I first learned about fricassee — the Tunisian kind.
An Israeli emissary in our community was working on perfecting her grandmother’s recipe, and she was standing at the stove, frying great wads of lovely dough. You can imagine my confusion.
I knew fricassee to be a chicken and vegetable dish of Latino origin, a stew made with chicken and sometimes meatballs as well, served up in lovely, flavorful sauce.
But not this fricassee. Hadas, the emissary, was preparing fried, doughy rolls stuffed with flaky tuna, hard-boiled eggs, a smear of harissa (hot chili pepper paste used liberally in North Africa) and preserved lemons. They were divine. Once I caught on, I adapted the Tunisian fricassee as a great, flavorful alternative for Hanukkah.
These fricassee rolls offer a unique spin on the tradition of frying foods in oil to symbolize the miracle of the oil in the temple. Serve them as part of a holiday buffet, or take the prepared sandwiches along on a Hanukkah outing. They hold up well without becoming soggy or mushy and are a delicious and festive way to pay homage to the miracle of the oil and the custom of eating fried foods.
Fricassee rolls (makes about 10 rolls)
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 ¼ cups warm water
- oil for frying
Filling options
- Oil-packed tuna
- Harissa
- Sliced hard-boiled eggs
- Sliced pickles
- Pitted black Moroccan olives
- Sliced preserved lemons
- Sliced boiled potatoes
Preparation
- In the bowl of a mixer combine flour, yeast, and salt. Add egg and oil; while the machine is running, slowly add the water.
- Using the dough hook, knead in the mixer for about ten minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Remove to a well-oiled bowl. Cover and let rise 1 to 1 ½ hours until double in size.
- Form the dough into round or elongated rolls. Place on a lined cookie sheet and allow to rise another half hour.
- In a large heavy-bottomed frying pan, pour enough oil to reach halfway up the sides of the pan heat the oil on a medium flame. Brown the rolls on each side and place on paper towels to remove excess oil.
Rolls can be eaten hot or cold and are easily refreshed in the toaster.
