Corn in Algerian Cooking

As far as we know Maize arrived in Africa in the 1500's. In Algerian cooking cornmeal is steamed for couscous, made into breads and griddle (skillet tagine) cakes, fritters, dumplings and porridges like polenta or hominy grits. Whole hominy is simply boiled to make a comforting gruel like dish or it is added to more elaborate soups and stews.

One of my favorite fresh corn dishes is whole corn cooked in hot ashes. However. living in an urban setting it's not convenient for me to start a wood fire and let it smolder for hours. I use an oven method for slow roasted corn. First remove the silk from the corn, leave the husks intact and soak the corn for at least 30 minutes in cool water. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F, cover corn with tin foil and bake for an hour. Another obvious option is to grill it over very, very low heat with the cover on. However, I do not have a bbq grill at home.

I made this last year and forgot to post about it. And now I can't find the photo I took of the plated dish.

Slow roasted or quickly grilled corn is sometimes served with spiced salt or spiced butter.

Spiced Salt or Seasoned Salt:

4 tablespoons coarse salt
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon ground pink and green peppercorns

Spiced Butter:

1 stick unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley

Method:
Melt butter in a small skillet, remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients. Brush over corn before serving.

 

Cook's note: In Algeria lemon wedges are a very common addition to the table for squeezing on to foods such as corn, salads, tagines, and so on.

Comments

[kathryn]

Farid, how lovely to be able to comment! Your spiced salt and butter look lovely, I can imagine these going very well with corn. We often cook corn on the barbecue in summer and then serve with chilli and salt ground together and lime wedges. You dip the lime in the chilli salt and then rub over the corn. It's delicious.

[Sam]

I like eating the corn in this way! Miam miam!
I eat one by writing this comment ;-)
Excuse my english :-(