🥔 SIDE
Omek Houria (Tunisian Spicy Carrot Salad)
Boiled carrots crushed coarsely with garlic, harissa, caraway and olive oil, topped with tuna, egg and black olives, a fiery orange salad served with bread, fried fish or grilled meat.
Tunisian · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 25 min
~319 cal · 5g protein · 14g carbs · 28g fat · 4g fiber · 6g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Omek houria is a spicy carrot salad and one of the classics of the Tunisian table. The carrots are boiled until very soft, crushed roughly with a fork, never puréed smooth, and seasoned with raw garlic, , tabel or caraway and a good pour of olive oil. On Djerba it is called terchi.
It belongs to the family of Tunisian salads that open and accompany a meal, alongside slata mechouia and slata tounsia. It is part of the kemia, the little plates set out in Tunisian bistros with drinks, it is served beside fried fish or a grilled protein at the family table, and it makes a good sandwich spread.
It is usually dressed up with the things every Tunisian kitchen keeps on hand: canned tuna in oil, quartered hard-boiled egg and black olives. It is served cold or warm, with bread.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 500 g (1 lb) carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, grated or crushed
- 1 tbsp , or to taste
- 1/2 tsp ground caraway (or tabel, Tunisian coriander and caraway mix)
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, half to dress, half to finish
- 1 tsp white vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 80 g canned tuna in olive oil, drained
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
- a handful black olives
- 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
- 1Boil the carrots in salted water for about 25 minutes, until very tender. Boil the eggs in a separate pan for 10 minutes, then cool them in cold water and peel.
- 2Drain the carrots very well and let them steam dry for a minute, then crush them coarsely with a fork.✎ Chef’s noteKeep some texture. Omek houria is crushed, not puréed.
- 3Stir the harissa with a spoonful of water to loosen it, then mix it into the carrots with the garlic, caraway, vinegar, salt and half the olive oil. Taste for salt and heat.
- 4Spread the salad in a shallow dish, top with the tuna, egg quarters, olives and parsley and pour over the rest of the oil. Serve warm or cold with bread, beside fried fish or grilled meat.
Tunisian home and bistro tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Tunis. The Tunisian egg-in-tomato dish is properly ojja: peppers and garlic fried in olive oil with harissa and caraway, tomatoes reduced down, eggs cracked in at the last moment and eaten straight from the pan with bread. Shakshuka is its gentler relative and its origins are argued across Tunisia, the Ottoman lands and Yemen, so Tunis is not where to settle that question.
🗺️
Tunisia. Tunisia is North Africa's spiciest kitchen, where fiery harissa paste flavors nearly everything, from couscous to brik pastries and shakshuka. Its Mediterranean coast brings olive oil, seafood, and tomatoes to a table shaped by Berber, Arab, and French hands.
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Africa. Much of what reads as timeless African cooking is younger than the Atlantic crossings. Maize, cassava, groundnut, chilli and tomato all arrived from the Americas after 1500 and pushed older crops aside; millet, sorghum, teff, yam and fonio are the ones that were already here, and the map still shows the join.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Tunisia
Shakshuka bel HarissaEggs poached directly in a fiery, harissa-laced pepper and tomato sauce, eaten from the pan with bread.
LablabiChickpeas in garlicky cumin broth ladled over torn bread, hit with harissa, lemon, and a soft egg, Tunisia’s working breakfast.
Couscous bel HoutTunisian fish couscous: steamed semolina under a spicy tomato broth of fish and vegetables.
Browse all Tunisia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Steamer.
Storing it: Best assembled just before serving. Prep the components ahead and dress at the last moment so it stays crisp.
Make it a Tunisia meal
Thé aux PignonsDrink
MakroudhDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Omek Houria (Tunisian Spicy Carrot Salad)?
Boiled carrots crushed coarsely with garlic, harissa, caraway and olive oil, topped with tuna, egg and black olives, a fiery orange salad served with bread, fried fish or grilled meat.
Where does Omek Houria (Tunisian Spicy Carrot Salad) come from?
Omek Houria (Tunisian Spicy Carrot Salad) is a Tunisian dish from Tunis, Tunisia.
Can Omek Houria (Tunisian Spicy Carrot Salad) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Omek Houria (Tunisian Spicy Carrot Salad) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Omek Houria (Tunisian Spicy Carrot Salad) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Omek Houria (Tunisian Spicy Carrot Salad) take to make?
About 40 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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