Algerian Cuisine Cuisine Algerienne by Farid ZADI

Nawal 2 Marmiton blog of the week

I haven't been keeping up the blog of the week on a regular basis. I found another Algerian blogger who focuses on food. If anyone knows of any others please let me know. Nawal blogs in French from Paris. Not all of the content is about Algerian cooking. However it does offer a glimpse into Algerian homecooking and how some dishes are modified by available ingredients. The traditional Lamb with peas for example includes Asian snow peas.

Nawal was in French Elle as a blogger of note.

Seksu Khoubbiz, Couscous with Lavender, Couscous au Lavande

I left my camera somewhere and will not have it until tomorrow morning. So there go my plans to take photos of ghribia. I'll present a sweet couscous dish that is not well known. It's actually a very simple variation.

Ingredients:

500 gr of cooked couscous
500 gr de couscous cuit

1 tablespoon of lavender flowers, discard the stem
1 cuillere a soupe de fleur de lavande

1/4 cup of confectioner's sugar
25 gr de sucre glace

Method:

1) After the final couscous steaming add the lavender and dust with confectioner's sugar. Paula Wolfert's recipe for a sweet couscous with raisins. In Algeria we call couscous with raisins simply mesfouf, mesfouf b'z-zbib or seffa b'z-zbib. There are possibly more variations in what it's called.

Ghribia, Algerian Cookies, Les Petits Gâteaux Spécialité Algérienne

This is another Ghribia recipe. I'm positng a bit hastily because of the high demand for Ramadan. I will try to post step by step photos this weekend. But quite frankly these cookies are not like souffles, they are not difficult to make. The hardest part is forming them into even shapes, but that is is just a matter of practice.

Ingredients

3 cups of AP flour
3 tasses de farine

1 stick of butter at room temperature (1 cup)
115 gr de beurre

1 cup of confectioner's sugar
1 tasse de sucre glace

1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cuillere a cafe de vanille
 
2 eggs
2 oeufs

Ghribia, Algerian Cookies, Les Petits Gâteaux Spécialité Algérienne

I've been holding on posting cookie recipes until I have time to bake them. But the urgent requests keep coming for Ramadan. So I will insert photos later.

Ghribia or ghribiya are made from all purpose flour, semolina flour or even chick pea flour in Algeria. Sometimes a little corn flour or ground almonds are added. My preference is for the ones made with semolina. So I will present that one first.

Ingredients:

1 kg semolina flour
1 kg de semoule

2 sticks of butter, softened.
225 gr de beurre

3 eggs, yolks and whites separated
3 oeufs, separe les jaunes d'oeuf des blancs d'oeuf

750 gr confectioner's sugar (some people add less sugar)
750 gr de sucre glace

1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cuillere a cafe de sel

Whole blanched almonds for decoration (optional)

Oil for the baking sheets

Yields approximately 7 dozen cookies.

EDIT!!! I forgot to add that you should have some vegetable oil at hand in case the dough is too dry and does not bind. Add a few tablespoons of oil until the mass comes together.

Algerian Desserts

I've noticed that my blog gets alot of hits for "Algerian desserts." Algerians eat fresh or dried fruits and nuts for dessert. Algerian pastries are served with tea which can be at anytime of day.

Algerians in France or more urban areas in Algeria will sometimes have French or French influenced cakes and sweets for dessert.

However during Ramadan traditional pastries and cookies are served alongside savory dishes and sweet meat dishes.

Baghrir, Algerian Pancakes, Crêpes Algérienne

My maman made baghrir with 100% semolina flour. Other cooks use a combination of semolina and all purpose flour which produces more holes and a lighter pancake. Some versions do not contain eggs. I'll do a photo tutorial of those too. But my preference is for the way my maman made it, so I present her recipe first.

I think of Algerians more than other Maghrebis as having a preference for breads, cakes and crepes made from 100% semolina flour.

Chtithat el Kercha/ El Bekbouka, Algerian Spicy Tripe, Tripe en Sauce

This is a very common dish found in Algerian restaurants in France. Chick peas are a common addition. I did not add any chickpeas, but you can if you like.

Mechoui, Algerian Roast Lamb

Algerian Mechoui made in Sonoma, California. Terrific photos worth a look.

Traditionally a mechoui is a roasted whole lamb. Mechoui means roast over a natural fire, not baked in an oven. Not surprisingly a whole lamb does not fit into my home oven. And I do not have the space to build a pit or an oven outside. Eventually I will post photos of a whole lamb being roasted outdoors with different types of heat sources.

Algerian roast lamb is cooked very slowly while basting with butter or olive oil or both. The seasoning can be as simple as just salt or can include a range of spices.

The meat should be extremely tender with a crispy skin. Personally I do not like "duplicating" the crispy skin that results from cooking over a natural fire in an oven by turning up the heat  during the last 15-20 minutes of cooking. Something about the texture bothers me.

Dersat el'sane, Algerian Spicy Beef Tongue, Langue de Boeuf en Sauce

I prefer to serve dishes with a red sauce like this on darker colored plates, preferably earth toned. Even a little splatter of red sauce on the sides of a light colored plate does not look so nice to me. But we did not have a darker colored plate, so here you are.

It's taking me longer to post all the recipes from the Iftar photo than it did me to cook them!

Ingredients:

1 beef tongue (boil in water for about 20 minutes, peel off the skin with a very sharp knife)
750 gr- 1kg de langue de boeuf

3 tomatoes concassee
3 tomates

2 red bell peppers chopped
2 poivrons rouges hachees

1 onion chopped
1 oignon hache

2 carrots cut into rounds
2 carrottes coupees en rondelles

1 branch of celery chopped
1 branche de celeri hache

2 bay leaves
2 feuilles de laurier

Optional herbs include thyme, basil, flat leaf parsely or coriander leaf.

Vineger or lemon juice
Vinaigre ou jus de citron

Spices my ras el hanout or you can keep it simple and use cumin, paprika and turmeric.

Salt and pepper
Sel et poivre

Olive oil
Huile d'olive

(other versions include olives, chick peas, garlic or artichokes)

Loubia b'Dirsa, Algerian White Bean Stew, Potage aux Haricots Blancs et Pois Chiches

This dish has often been described as Algerian chili. I suppose one can call it that when explaining it to an American audience. It does have beans, optional ground or minced meat and spices. But the similarities end there. The flavor and texture are very different. The white beans and chick peas are cooked to buttery tenderness that contrasts nicely with the spiced broth and piquant dirsa.

Dirsa is a chili sauce made from fresh or dried hot red peppers.