Dolma Khodra, Algerian Stuffed Vegetables, Legumes Farcies a la Viande Hachee

I decided to stuff some of the smaller vegetables from my Iftar mise en place Dolmas are an Ottoman introduction to Algerian cuisine. Before the Turks came the Badwi were stuffing meats and vegetables and there were Moorish stuffed dishes as well. So the concept of stuffing was not introduced by the Ottomans, rather a set of dishes and techniques were added to the layers of Algerian cuisine.

Scoop out the center of the vegetables with a small spoon, be careful not to dig too deeply. You want to leave at least a 1/4" at the base. Chop up the scooped bits of vegetable to use in the stuffing. You can saute them for more flavor, remember to cool them before adding the meat.

I know, I know most of my dishes contain meat. That's my own preference. I'm a big meat eater. There are stuffings made entirely from vegetables as well. I will post recipes for those later.

Ingredients:

5 small onions
5 petits oignons

4 small tomatoes
4 petites tomates

1 zucchini cut into even cylinders approximately the same height as the onions and tomatoes
1 courgette

Stuffing:

100 gr of ground lamb or beef
100 gr de viande hachee

5-6 green olives* (use Spanish or Italian if you cannot find Algerian olives), chopped
5-6 olives vertes hachees

1 shallot minced
1 echalote emincee

1 tablespoon of chopped herbs such as basil, thyme, flat leaf parsley or coriander leaf (cilantro)
1 cuillere a soupe d'herbes hachees, basilic, thyme, persil plat ou coriandre

Salt and pepper
Sel et poivre

1 egg
1 oeuf

Butter
Beurre

Olive oil
Huile d'olive

 

 

Method:

Look at the photos! If you have leftover stuffing make some meatballs. If you don't have enough stuffing to fill the vegetables like I did, well you deal with it like an Algerian. Which means to accept that there is less stuffing. Drizzle some olive in the pan and dot the vegetables with butter. Alot of the fat will cook off into the the baking dish and can be drained before service. The onions take longer to become tender, some cooks start cooking them first for about 15-20 minutes. Cover with foil and bake in a preheated 350F (175C) until tender, about 1 hour depending on the size of your vegetables. Remove the foil about 10-15 minutes before the end of cooking to color them a bit.

 

The butter helps to keep the stuffing moist. If you are cutting back on butter, you do not have to use it, obviously you will lose some moisture and flavor.

 

You can sprinkle some fresh herbs as a garnish.

The dish can also be cooked on the stove top in base of tomato sauce in which case the butter is not necessary.

*When you add olives to a dish, adjust your seasoning according the saltiness of the olives which can vary quite a bit depending on the type you are using.

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chef zadiFarid Zadi

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