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Tunisian · Maghrebi

Salata mechouia

Non-vegetarian

سلاطة مشوية · slata mechouia

Charred peppers, tomatoes, onion and garlic chopped together with olive oil, lemon and caraway into a smoky relish-like salad. Often topped with tuna, egg and olives in Tunisia.

Salata mechouia is a Tunisian salad, ready in about 55 minutes and made with green bell pepper, tomato and caraway seeds. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Salata mechouia of grilled peppers topped with tuna, egg and olives
Photo: Citizen59 / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-3.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
25 min
Rest
10 min
Total
55 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
173

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Char the peppers, chillies, tomatoes (opens in a new tab), onion (opens in a new tab) and garlic (opens in a new tab) over a grill or gas flame, or under a very hot oven (opens in a new tab) grill, turning until blackened and soft.

    Food cooking over a grill
    How it looks · Photo: Malte Luk on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Put the vegetables in a covered bowl for 10 minutes until the skins loosen, then peel, deseed the peppers and squeeze the garlic (opens in a new tab) from its skin.

    • 10 min

  3. Step 3

    Finely chop everything together on a board (or pound lightly in a mortar) and mix with the oil, lemon, caraway (opens in a new tab), coriander and salt.

    • 8 min
    Fresh herbs being chopped
    How it looks · Photo: RDNE Stock project on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Spread on a plate and top with egg (opens in a new tab), tuna and olives (opens in a new tab) if you like.

    About this dish

    Origin
    Tunisia · Well documentedAlso popular in AlgeriaMore food from Tunisia
    Dish
    Lunch · Dinner · Salads · Dips & spreads · Side dishes
    Cooking method
    Grilled, Roasted
    Taste
    smoky, spicy (chilli heat), aromatic / warmly spiced, tangy
    Diet
    Pescatarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb
    All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · Paleo-style · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Mediterranean-style · Keto-style · Low-carb
    Without the optional extras: Vegan, Plant-based, Vegetarian (lacto-ovo), Eggetarian, Lacto-vegetarian, Ovo-vegetarian, Egg-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Make-ahead
    Cook more with
    Green bell pepper · Tomato · Caraway seeds · Green chilli · Onion · Garlic
    Techniques
    Roasting · Grilling · Charcoal grilling · Knife skills

    Allergens

    • Contains, can be adapted: Eggsfrom egg
    • Contains, can be adapted: Fishfrom canned tuna

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    173 kcal per serving

    Calculated

    1 serving ≈ 233 g · recipe makes 4

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 5%
    • Carbohydrate 27%
    • Fat 68%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy173 kcal74 kcal
    Protein2.3 g1 g
    Carbohydrate12.2 g5.2 g
    Net carbohydrate8.7 g3.7 g
    Sugars6 g2.6 g
    Added sugars0 g0 g
    Fibre3.5 g1.5 g
    Fat14 g6 g
    Saturated fat2 g0.8 g
    Trans fat——
    Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
    Sodium592 mg254 mg
    Salt equivalent1.5 g0.6 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    448 mg
    Calcium
    36 mg
    Iron
    0.9 mg
    Magnesium
    26 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    56 µg
    Vitamin C
    97 mg
    Vitamin D
    0 µg
    Vitamin B12
    0 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    29 µg

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
    • Optional ingredients are not included: egg, canned tuna, black olives.
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • Caraway is the signature spice of Tunisian cooking — toasting it briefly before grinding makes it more fragrant.

    Common mistakes

    • Puréeing the vegetables — mechouia should be finely chopped, with texture.

    Serve with

    • Serve with bread as a starter, or alongside grilled fish.

    Food safety

    • Refrigerate within 2 hours once topped with tuna and egg; keep the topped salad no more than a day.

    Storage

    • Refrigerate (without egg) up to 3 days.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    What the dish is built around

    Main ingredient

    Used in steps 1, 3, 4

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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