Gratin. It is a dish with a lightly browned crust of breadcrumbs or melted cheese. It can be a dish of potatoes covered with cheese and then into the oven. Or pasta with tomatoe sauce and sprinkled with breadcrumbs and into the oven.
We have many kinds of Tunisian gratins. But three things in common in all of them: potatoes, eggs, and either cheese or dough. All tunisian gratin have potatoes and eggs in it. And you choose if you want to put cheese or use dough (or better yet, BOTH).
The name Tajine can be confused with the Moroccan Tajine. Tunisian tajine is not a sauce like the Moroccan one. We, Tunisians, call this gratin a tajine, or bread that is made on pan.
Back to the Basics
To make a very basic tunisian gratin, you will need potatoes, eggs, cheese, salt and pepper. For 4 Potatoes, use 2 eggs.
- Potatoes: Peel the potatoes, cut them in small cubes. Salt them and fry them.
- Eggs: Beat the eggs, add some pepper in them.
- Cheese: choose melty cheese. I usually use Emmental cheese. But the world is yours, put in your favorite cheese.
Now mix the eggs and potatoes together, add some of the cheese, grease an oven form (for the amount mentioned, a small oven form 26x17cm or 24cm diameter), add the rest of the cheese on top and bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven 200°C.
Et voilà! You have got the basic recipe of Tunisian gratin.
The varieties of what to add to a basic gratin
You can add so many ingredients to add flavor to the basic gratin. Most common ingredient added is chicken breast. My grandmother makes the gratin using lamb liver. Well, I am not a big fan of liver so I do prefer it with chicken. Some also add minced meat.
You can also choose between adding parsley or spinach or both.
Gratin is a dish where you can get creative and experimental. Make a vegetarian gratin, with paprika, carrots, and celery. Or a gartin with sweet corn and green beans. The possibilities are endless.
What kind of dough is used in gratin?
Most commonly, philo dough is used in gratin with dough. Malsouka or Brik is the name of the Tunisian philo dough. It is made out of flour (and sometimes semolina) mixed with water and some salt. It is even thinner than french crepes. It can be filled with mashed potatoes with egges and fry it in oil and then we get Tunisian Brik, a very popular side dish. or we use it in a gratin as we will do it in this recipe.
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