WHAT IS FRICASSÉ?
Fricassé is a little savory fried brioche sandwich.
Balls of dough are fried, then split and stuffed according to one’s taste with sliced hard-boiled potato and egg, harissa, tuna, black olives, and Israeli salad.
WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF FRICASSÉ?
There is a popular belief that a Tunisian grandmother of Jewish origin invented fricassé in the 19th century. She expected many guests who dropped out at the last moment. As she had fried many donuts for dessert, and didn’t know what to do with them, she stuffed them with what she had on hand. These little bites were all the rage with her family and neighbors; the fricassé was born.
Fricasse’s connection with Tsfat is that it is a delicacy brought over with the many immigrants from Tunisia who settled in Tsfat in the 1950s. Nearly one third of Tsfat’s community today have Tunisian roots.
Another notable Tunis/Tsfat connection – the Vizhnitz/Tunis synagogue in the Old City of Tsfat.
When Rabbi Joshua Pitussi migrated to Israel from Tunisia in 1949, he looked for a synagogue for the fledgling community from his homeland. Rabbi Kaplan of the Vizhnitz community in Tsfat offered his building with the condition that the name Vizhnitz should remain connected to the building. So Tsfat has a synagogue which unifies two very different Jewish communities!
The connection to Chanukah? This delicacy is fried in oil – a savory donut!!
RECIPE:
INGREDIENTS for Dough:
- ½ kilo flour
- 1 tablespoon dried yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 1 egg, beaten well
- 2 tablespoons brandy/vodka/any alcohol (prevents absorption of oil during frying)
- Oil for frying
Ingredients for filling (all are optional and used according to your taste):
- sliced cooked potatoes seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika
- sliced hard-boiled eggs
- canned tuna (drained)
- black olives
- Israeli salad (small cubes of cucumber, tomato and onion)
Optional condiments- harrisa (a hot red Tunisian sauce), pickled lemon, techina
METHOD:
- Mix the flour, sugar and yeast.
- Make a well in the center of this mixture and pour in the beaten egg.
- Gradually stir in the water until obtaining a homogeneous, light dough that detaches from the sides of the bowl (please note this is much lighter and looser than bread dough).
- Add salt and knead for 5 minutes.
- Cover the dough with a cloth and let it rise for 1 ½ hours in a warm place, away from drafts.
- Once the dough has doubled in volume, place it on a lightly floured work surface and punch it down.
- Divide the dough into 10 pieces.
- Flatten each piece of dough into a rectangle, and then form into a sausage shape.
- Place them, with enough space between, on a sheet lined with greased parchment paper.
- Cover them with a clean cloth and let them rise again for 40 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and fry, at medium temperature, not more than three at a time
for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side until they are golden brown.
- Drain on paper towels.
- After around 10-15 minutes, when the buns have cooled, slice halfway along the long side in order to fill them.
- If you enjoy a little spice, spread the inside with harissa or another hot Middle Eastern sauce.
- Fill with chopped sliced boiled potato and eggs, tuna, Israeli salad, and top with pickled lemon or techina. You can also add sliced onion and fried eggplant. Let your imagination lead the way!
- Enjoy!