Tunisian recipe
How to make Mint tea with pine nuts
Tunis and all of Tunisia
Sweet green tea with fresh mint, served in small glasses with a spoonful of pine nuts floating on top. In the cafés of Tunis you are often asked whether you want your tea with or without pine nuts.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Chinese gunpowder green tea
- 700 ml water
- 4 to 6 teaspoons sugar, to taste
- A large handful of fresh mint
- 4 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted in a dry pan
Method
- Bring the water to the boil. Rinse the tea leaves in a teapot with a little boiling water and pour this water away.
- Add the rest of the boiling water and the sugar to the pot, and let it brew for 3 minutes, or simmer it gently on a low heat as many Tunisians do.
- Push the mint into the pot and leave it for 2 more minutes.
- Put a spoonful of pine nuts in each small glass and pour the hot tea over them from a height, so it froths a little.
- Serve at once; sip the tea and eat the pine nuts at the end.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
The pine nuts are there more for their crunch than for their taste; toasted almonds or peanuts are sometimes used instead.
Take the trip to Tunisia
