The term Makarouna comes from Maghrebi Arabic and simply means pasta, but there is a traditional dish in Tunisia (and also in Libya) called Makarouna. It is pasta—often spaghetti—prepared with a spicy red sauce made with tomato, garlic, chili pepper, olive oil, and sometimes meat (which can be beef, lamb, chicken, or merguez sausages). The dish is very popular because it is simple, filling, and flavorful, and it reflects the Tunisians' love of spicy, generously seasoned pasta.
4 merguez sausages, garlic, 12 cherry tomatoes, coriander, cumin*, fennel seeds*, cayenne pepper*, tomato paste, 200g pasta
The blend used is called 'Tabel Carwiya'. It is a mixture of coriander, caraway, sweet red chilies, and garlic. Everything is then dried and ground into a powder. Caraway is a spice from North Africa that can be easily replaced with a 50/50 blend of cumin and fennel seeds. The final spiciness is provided by harissa, a red chili paste. Since I don't have harissa in the kitchen, I replaced the sweet chili with cayenne pepper, which gives the spice blend the necessary heat, but you can also add paprika and the harissa at the same time as the tomato paste.
Start by cutting the merguez into pieces with scissors, then turn on the heat under a frying pan with olive oil and cut a clove of garlic into small pieces.
