Mermez is a warming, Tunisian one-pot stew, gently flavoured with paprika, caraway, cumin and garlic, plus a hint of exotic and fragrant spices including cinnamon, cardamon and rose. Using plenty of onions and olive oil makes the sauce rich and delicious - add an extra drizzle of olive oil at the table for even more flavour!

MERMEZ BLEND (1 portion = 3 tbsp): caraway, paprika, coriander, cumin, red bell pepper, mint, chilli, parsley, brown MUSTARD, coriander leaf, cassia, black cardamon, black pepper, green cardamon, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, bay

Allergens are listed in CAPITALS. May contain traces of celery and sesame

Tunisian Mermez Recipe:

PREP 20 mins
COOK 1 hr 30 mins
HEAT 2
Serves 4

You Need:

500g diced lamb, beef or chicken, or root veg for a veg/vegan version
2 onions - finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic - finely grated
1 green pepper - cut into bite-size pieces
10g bunch of parsley or mint (optional) - roughly chopped
1 lemon
400g tin of tomatoes
2 x 400g tins of chick peas
4 tbsp olive oil
Crusty bread and salad to serve
1 portion of Mermez Blend

Method:

Fry the lamb and onion in the olive oil for 10 minutes or until the onion is soft and translucent
Add the tinned tomatoes, chickpeas (including all the liquid from the tins), MERMEZ BLEND and 1 tsp salt then cover and simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is tender and the sauce is rich and thick (stirring occasionally and adding a splash of water if necessary)
Add the garlic and pepper, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the pepper is soft
Stir in the juice of ½ the lemon, sprinkle over the chopped parsley (if using) then serve with the bread, salad and remaining ½ lemon cut into wedges to squeeze over at the table

Packaging format:

All our spicestore ingredients are now sold as refills and come in compostable bags (made from wood pulp), so just decant the contents into your existing spice jars or Spicery stackable tins and dispose of the bag in your compost and food waste bin!

You can find our stackable tins here

You can read all about our efforts to reduce plastic waste in our packaging blog here