Djerbian cooking in five dishes
Djerbian rice, fish couscous, octopus, mechouia, pine-nut tea: five dishes to understand what Djerba puts on the plate.
An island you can taste
The cooking of Djerba is island cooking: fish above all, olive oil everywhere, spices that warm without burning and vegetables that follow the seasons. Here are five dishes that sum it up, and where to taste them.
1. Djerbian rice
Rouz jerbi is steamed, mixed with herbs and green vegetables, with lamb or seafood depending on the house. A festive family dish, soft and fragrant, rarely found off the island. It is the one to ask for first.
2. Fish couscous
On the mainland, couscous is often made with lamb or chicken; on the Djerbian coast it comes with fish, in a red broth that takes on the taste of the sea. It is the dish of long tables, the one you never order in a hurry.
3. The octopus
Octopus is the business of the island's fishermen, who still catch it with the gargoulette, clay jars set on the seabed. In a salad with lemon and olive oil, grilled or simmered, it is on every good table, and on the port of Houmt Souk you can still see the jars stacked up.
4. Mechouia
Peppers and tomatoes grilled over fire then chopped, garlic, olive oil, often tuna and an egg to crown it: mechouia opens the Tunisian meal. The real one smells of fire, nothing like the ready-made versions.
5. Pine-nut tea
The meal ends, or the afternoon goes by, around a mint tea crowned with pine nuts, served scalding and very sweet. In Djerba, refusing a tea is rarely done; refusing the second glass even less.
At the table of the house
At Dar El Bhar, the menu keeps a Tunisian corner: royal couscous, lamb gargoulette, fish kabkabou depending on the day. The catch of the day is often chosen by the piece and goes over a live flame in front of you. At noon it is eaten feet in the sand, at the beach bar.
Come and see for yourself
The house is about thirty minutes from Djerba-Zarzis airport, right on the water, on Sidi Mehrez beach.