The Depanneur + The Bentway Communal Table 2023
Family-style dining in a unique urban setting. Communal Tables are seated, family-style meals, served and shared at 10 tables of 6, where you bring your own plates and cutlery.
THU September 7 | Tunisia La Douce | Fatima Khlifi & Zeyneb Rejeb
Strachan Gate at The Bentway • 6pm • Pre-order online until TUE September 5
The cuisine of Tunisia is a blend of Mediterranean and Berber culinary traditions. Its distinctive flavours comes from the many civilizations which have ruled the land now known as Tunisia: Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Spanish, Turkish, Sicilians, French, and the native Punics-Berber people. Cousins Zeyneb and Fatima bonded in Toronto over their shared love of traditional Tunisian food, and are excited to share this traditionally-prepared couscous, a labour-intensive, time-consuming dish often reserved for special occasions and big family gatherings.
Mezze
Warm homemade khobz (semolina bread), served with olives, olive oil, and a special harissa (spicy chilli paste) personally brought from Tunisia by the cooks.
Tunisian Couscous
A giant mound of tender, steamed couscous — the tiny rolled semolina pasta characteristic of many North African cuisines — prepared in the traditional Tunisian style, basted with a rich, spiced tomato gravy.
Served with:
Braised Chicken (halal)
with chickpeas & carrots
–or–
Braised Zucchini & Pumpkin [vegetarian]
with chickpeas & carrots
Tunisian Salad
A cool & refreshing southern Mediterranean summer salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and green apples dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and mint.
Makroud
A classic Tunisian sweet named after its distinctive diamond-shape, this semolina cookie is filled with dates and soaked in a fragrant sugar-honey syrup after baking.
—–
Meat or Vegetarian
Tunisia La Douce
$40 pp
Zeyneb Rejeb and Fatima Khlifi are cousins, but grew up in two different countries; Zeyneb in Tunisia and Fatima in France. Zeyneb joined Fatima in Toronto with her family to do her PHD at the University of Toronto. Despite living far apart, they were connected their Tunisian roots and memories of spending summer holidays together in Tunisia. Zeyneb, an experienced Tunisian cook, and Fatima started gathering friends to share enjoy and these North African dishes rarely found in Toronto. You can follow the cousins on Instagram: Zeyneb @Zeynouba_ben_rejeb and Fatima @FatiCookInMix where she focuses on cooking international foods using a Thermomix.
Pay It Forward
At check out, you will be invited to optionally contribute towards our Pay It Forward initiative. Pay it Forward funds go to Dashmaawaan Bemaadzinjin (They Feed the People) to support the food security needs of vulnerable persons in Toronto’s Indigenous community.
