Brik in Djerba: the Tunisian dish you have to try

The brik is a fried filled pastry, folded into a triangle and dropped into very hot oil. The best-known version, the egg brik, combines a raw egg, tuna, capers, parsley and onion. You are usually asked whether you prefer the yolk runny - the traditional way - or well cooked, an increasingly common option many people choose simply to avoid stains on their shirt.

The thin pastry that wraps it is called malsouka. It is spread by hand, in thin layers, on a scorching hot plate - a gesture Tunisian women have passed down for generations. The result is a sheet far thinner than spring roll wrappers, which turns crisp when fried without ever feeling heavy.

Food historians lean towards an Ottoman origin: this thin pastry is thought to be a Tunisian, semolina-based adaptation of the Turkish börek, which reached the Maghreb centuries ago through trade. There is also a more local tale that fishermen had the idea of wrapping their leftover fish in thin pastry to fry it quickly - a charming story, passed on by word of mouth, that cannot be verified but says a lot about how attached Tunisians are to this dish.

What is certain is the place the brik holds today: it opens the evening meal during Ramadan, just after the dates, and is eaten all year round as a hot, crisp street snack for a few dinars.

The egg brik is only the most famous of a large family of Tunisian pastries. There are the doigts (or doigts de Fatma), shaped like little cigars, filled with minced meat or mashed potato and easier to eat in one bite. The samsa is a small triangular pocket, often thinner and crispier, found in both savory and sweet almond versions. All share the same pastry, the same hot oil and the same principle: crisp outside, soft inside.

At our residence in Midoun, our guests can taste an authentic brik, prepared to the traditional recipe by the Tazzert restaurant. We also offer two versions with a more contemporary presentation, while respecting the original gesture and flavors: the doigt de Fatma, easier to bite into as an aperitif, and a version inspired by the spring roll, thinner and lightly crisp, giving the classic a twist without betraying it.

Brik is rarely eaten on its own. At the table it goes above all with a Tunisian spread - an assortment of local salads (méchouia, Tunisian salad, spiced carrots, olives) - which brings freshness and a spicy kick to contrast with the crunch. For drinks, Tunisians happily pair it with a cold soda, the famous Boga Cidre first of all, a local apple-flavored drink found in almost every café in the country.

In Djerba, brik takes on a particular meaning, because the island itself is a beautiful mix: Ibadi Muslims, a very much alive minority of Islam on the island, Berbers whose craft traditions are still visible in the villages, and one of the last Jewish communities of the Arab world, settled notably around the La Ghriba synagogue, the oldest still active in Africa.

That diversity reaches all the way to the plate. In the Houmt Souk market, the main town of the island, a recent CNRS study describes how the small Zina restaurant, run by a Jewish trader, serves brik each day to the neighborhood's jewelers - and stays discreetly open during Ramadan to welcome both those exempt from fasting and passing tourists. In the Hara Kebira district, Brik Ishak has even become a cult address for its kosher brik, prepared according to Jewish dietary rules, drawing a clientele far beyond the community.

As for records, Djerba has its local stars too: in Houmt Souk, Ghzaiel was crowned best brik in Tunisia at the Torchi Food Awards two years running (2024 and 2025). And that is only the start: wandering the lanes of the island's pretty villages, you will surely come across other equally memorable addresses, each with its own touch. The same dish, prepared and shared differently from one neighborhood and family to the next: perhaps the best way to sum up Djerba.

• Say whether you want the yolk runny (the traditional way) or well cooked - both are done.
• Eat it hot, on the spot if possible: it quickly loses its crunch as it cools.
• Pair it with a plate of Tunisian salads and a cold Boga Cidre for the full experience.
• Curious? Try the doigts de Fatma and the samsa too, to vary the pleasures.
• In Djerba, compare the classic brik of Houmt Souk with the kosher brik of the Hara Kebira: same family, two traditions.

From far away but deeply Tunisian, the brik remains above all a simple pleasure: crisp pastry, a generous filling, and the little thrill of the first bite. In Djerba, it also becomes a very concrete way to taste the island's diversity and warmth.