Mechouya salad — spicy pepper salad

Thala spicy mechouya salad is Algeria's grilled pepper salad, also known as hmiss. Peppers grown in Kabylia are grilled over a wood fire, peeled by hand to remove any bitterness, then cooked with chilli, fresh coriander and garlic in sunflower oil. A short recipe, with no additives or preservatives, prepared by the women of the village of Thala Bouzrou.

It is the classic starter of Algerian and Tunisian tables: served cold with bread, it opens the meal or accompanies grilled meat. Shoppers also use it as a sandwich filling, on pizza or savoury tarts, or to lift an egg dish. Thala shows at French trade fairs, where its mechouya salad is the range's entry point.

Why list it

• The brand's flagship product, the one customers know and ask for.
• A short, readable ingredient list: peppers, chilli, coriander, garlic, oil, salt.
• Wood-fired, hand-peeled peppers: a real difference in taste from industrial mechouya.
• Available in small and large jars for retail and food service.
• Sales peak at Ramadan, Eid and during barbecue season.

On the shelf

Place mechouya salad in the middle of the North African grocery aisle, next to harissa, olive oil and olives. Suggest a mezze spread with Thala chakchouka and kesra bread. Serve cold by the spoonful, or warm over eggs. Once opened, keep refrigerated.