Algerian Cuisine Cuisine Algerienne by Farid ZADI

Kefta bel Zeitoun, Algerian Stuffed Olives on a Bed of Fennel, Fenouil aux Olives Farcies

I know I said earlier that I would post about Algerian flat breads and pasta dishes this weekend, Well this weekend was more hectic than expected. And my poor quality digital camera refused to function properly most of the time.

I was thinking about leavened and unleavened flat breads that we top with different vegetables in Algeria and I thought of this dish that is usually eaten as a meze or kemia. It is also used as a topping for flat bread, a kind of "pizza" that we usually call Khobz bel plus whatever topping.

 

Traditionally the meat for keftas was cut into little pieces and pounded. If you have the time I suggest you try this method for keftas, the texture is superior.

Les Traductions

Bonjour, les traductions en francais ont commencees, d'abord les listes d'ingredients pour chaque recettes.puis ensuite les methodes en francais et en audio. Merci a tous les francophones pour leur patience et leur appui.
                                             A tres bientot, Farid Zadi.   

Love Sicily by Katia Amore and Ronald Ashri

Love Sicily

loveSicily is the creation of Katia Amore and Ronald Ashri, who decided that the South-East region of Sicily is a place they enjoy and love and the place they really want to be after having lived for several years in the UK working as university researchers in ethnic relations and artificial intelligence, respectively. Katia was born in the South-East of Sicily, in Modica, and grew up just 20 minutes away - in Ispica. Ronald was born and grew up in Limassol, Cyprus (another beautiful Mediterranean island). They got married in Sicily in a beautiful sunny April day in 2003. Of course, loveSicily is nothing without our wonderful collaborators in Sicily. Especially Salvatore Guarino, that teaches on our cooking courses, and Ezio Cerruto, that teaches the mosaic courses.

Another noteworthy site is The Awaiting Table.

The Awaiting Table is a real, hands-on learning experience based in the southern Italian town of Lecce, the gastronomical, architectural and cultural capitol of the Salento, the beautiful slice of fertile land kissed by two different seas.

Clifford Wright, who wrote the monumental A Mediterranean Feast will be teaching some courses at The Awaiting Table next year.

Lham bel Foul, Algerian Beef Ragu with Fava Beans, Ragout de Viande

To the ill-informed it might seem like a meat ragu with pasta is a dish introduced into Algeria by the Italian pied noirs. I'll keep making this point until it's permeated thicker heads. I'm a bit frustrated with the assumptions made about European influences in North Africa. Durum wheat pasta is a North African invention introduced into Sicily by the Saracens. Of course the Italians took it to their own level of culinary artistry. I've been to Italy and I still remember the pasta dishes with a big smile.

Long before the European colonials crashed into North Africa, Algerians were eating pasta with a range of  sauces. Traditional Algerian pastas take the form of pasta balls or berkukis, hand rolled short noodles, hand rolled long noodles, strips of pasta cut into various widths or little squares the size of postage stamps. The same sauces used for pasta dishes are also often used for torn crepes or rougag.

Lemnemeche, Doigts d'Amandes, Algerian Almond Fingers

The Arab sweet tooth is legendary. One of the more obvious examples of Moorish/Saracen culinary influence in the Iberian Peninsula and Sicily are sweets made of almonds.

When I was in Algeria I recall that it was mostly the women who made them at home or the dadas (black female domestic cooks). Of course I don't recall a woman every slaughtering a lamb either. Let's call it division of duties, rather reading more into my observation that women made the pastries at home.

In France I simply purchased Algerian sweets at any number of pastry shops. However in America I have not had any luck finding one. My wife makes them at home now.

I present one of the simplest almond pastries to make. Lemnemeche, "Almond Fingers"

Felfel, Algerian Olive Oil Preserved Peppers Stuffed with Nuts, Piments Farcies Confits

As I've mentioned earlier there are a range of preparations using peppers. The most simplest one as Jilal pointed out is simply peppers with  salt and pepper, vinegar and olive oil.

I also want to mention that I will post about specific regional specialties. Don't worry Staifis I remember the cuisine of our Wilaya. I have the recipes, but the photos are taken in real time according to what I eat or prepare for family and friends.

I made this as a gift for a family member who likes garlic and hot peppers. If you do not like garlic and hot peppers us a milder chili and omit the garlic. It will still be authentic if that is of concern and yes, it will still be delicious.

Algerian Kesra and Khobz

(Photo courtesy of Jilal of France-Maghreb )

Many writers, including myself, have called couscous the staff of life in North Africa. I still maintain that it is, but bread is just as important.

There is something about the mere mention of khobz or kesra that touches us deeply. Long before there was couscous, there were simple pastes of flour and water cooked over fire or on hot  bricks. This bread takes us back in time, connecting us with our ancestors. It reminds us our beautiful Algeria.

It may come as a surprise to non-North Africans that my recipes and photos of our humble breads are the most talked about on Algerian food forums.

Maybe you are looking for something more exotic, an "Arabian Nights" fantasy of excess and exotic ingredients. Of course we have magnificent feasts of platter after platter of food that go on for ten days. But it is elementally true that a little bread or some couscous with lben or fresh extra virgin olive oil makes us happiest.

Slata bel Clementinas, Algerian Clementine, Onion and Mache Salad, Salade de Mache, aux Oranges et Oignons Eminces

The clementine is a hybrid of a mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata) and a bitter orange (Citrus auratium) developed in Oran, Algeria by a French Missionary named Father Clement Rodier. Bitter oranges and clementinas are simply eaten fresh for dessert, made into marmalades, the juice is reduced to syrups for variations on orangeade (the bitter orange orangeade is especially delicious) and of course made into endless variations of salads.

In Setif my mother would take me foraging for wild greens for fresh salads and soups.

Ingredients:

serves 4

4 generous handfuls of mache
mache

4 clementines peeled and sliced as shown. These were very sweet and tender, no need to supreme them.
4 clementines

1/2 a sweet onion, thinly sliced soaked in cold water with a tablespoon of vinegar for about 30 minutes.
1/2 oignon sucre

1 couple of tablespoons of nuts such as pine nuts or almonds.
Noix

Vinaigrette made with 1 part white vinegar and 3 parts extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
Vinaigrette preparee avec un quart de vinaigre blanc et 3 quarts d'huile d'olive, set et poivre.

Compose the salad as shown into individual portions or in a large salad bowl, add the vinaigrette to taste and toss. The sweetness of the oranges contrasts nicely with the tart vinegar, the bitter mache and sweet bite of the onions.

For lunch this can be eaten with fava bean salad, khobz or kesra and maybe some fresh goat cheese. Yes, we make goat cheese in Algeria.

Note: You can omit the onions and make a shallot vinaigrette. Yes we have shallots in Algeria and we use them in cooking and sauces. Rocket lettuce also makes a nice substitution for mache, and yes both are used in Algeria.

Cherbet el'llim, Algerian Lemonade, Citronnade

Algerian lemonade and orangeade are the precursor to French Orangina. The cherbat or syrup base is an Arab influence which also traveled to other Mediterranean countries that commercialized the product with brands like Monin.

Ingredients:

The juice of four large lemons for the syrup
Jus de 4 gros citrons pour le syrop

1 lemon for garnish and to add fresh lemon juice when the lemonade is mixed.
1 citron pour garniture

The zest of 1/2 a lemon (optional)
Zeste de 1/2 citron (optionel, le zeste donnera au gingembre plus de saveur si vous voulez votre limonade tres epicee)

2 1/2 cups of sugar (some cooks add more)
2 1/2 tasse de sucre

2 cups of water
2 tasses d'eau

Optional garnishes and flavorings include: cinnamon sticks, edible rose petals, rosewater and cloves.
Garnitures optionelles: canelle, comestibles petales de roses, d'eau rose et girofle

L'ham Lahlou bel Mechmech, Algerian Beef with Apricots, Boeuf aux Abricots

Some of you may be wondering why I present such small portions, when North African cooking is known for huge platters of food. Most of us Maghrebis have been to feasts or even "regular" meals where platter after platter of food was served. It's not an exaggeration to say that some couscous platters need several people to carry.

I work teaching double shifts at the school, so most of my meals during the week day are taken there. My wife is petite and my two children are still very young. So our home cooking these days is reduced in portion size.

I promise to present all the variations of our wonderful dishes and photographs of how we eat. This will take along time considering how old our culture and cuisine are.

The traditional amount of sugar for this dish might be unacceptable to those not accustomed to sweet dishes of meat. I have tried it without any sugar and it is still delicious. But the dish has to be seasoned with salt then.