Kafteji

Kafteji is fried potato, pepper and courgette chopped fine with scrambled egg and harissa into a warm, messy street-food mash. It is Tunisia's answer to using up whatever's in the fryer, built from vegetables fried separately and then chopped down together rather than any single defining ingredient.

What it really is

Potato, pepper, courgette and sometimes aubergine fry separately in batches, each vegetable given its own time in the hot oil until it's properly cooked through and lightly golden. Once fried, everything gets chopped together on a board into small, roughly even pieces, then tossed back into the pan with scrambled egg and a spoonful of harissa, the chopping itself being what turns a plate of separately fried vegetables into one unified dish.

The chopping-together step is what makes it kafteji, not just fried vegetables on a plate. Serving the fried pieces whole and separate is a completely different dish; kafteji only becomes itself once everything is chopped down and mixed together in the pan.

How it is served

• Warm, piled onto a plate or stuffed into a piece of bread.
• With harissa on the side for guests who want more heat.
• As a street food or a quick lunch, rarely a formal sit-down course.

How to write it on the menu

• Flag the egg.
• It is naturally vegetarian; note if any meat is added, since some versions include merguez or tuna.
• Note that confidence on the nutrition figures is low, since the exact vegetable mix and oil absorption vary widely by vendor.