Algerian Cuisine Cuisine Algerienne by Farid ZADI

Reviews of Couscous and Tagine Recipes #1

A lot of celebrity chefs and food personalities in France and in the United States publish couscous and tagine recipes. I'm going to select a few to review. I will not review for authenticity. I'm actually quite happy to see people adapting North African ingredients and technques to their own culinary lexicon.

I'm reviewing a random sampling of recipes. I simply googled "name+tagine or +couscous and clicked on the first search result.

Gordon Ramsay's Lamb Tagine and Couscous

The first thing I ask is why does he season the couscous so much? He cooks it in stock and adds herbs. When couscous is served with a flavorful tagine, it should be plain and simple. This is like cooking pasta in stock and adding herbs to it before saucing it with a bolognese. Why would you do that? It's overkill, too much going on in the dish. I see it all the time. (No comment about the way he cooks couscous).

Semolina for Breakfast

A few weeks ago, I taught a fresh pasta class. I included a semolina egg pasta recipe. The students in the class had never seen semolina flour before, even though all of them had eaten plenty of dried pasta all their lives.

Under Italian law, pasta secca (dry pasta) can only be made with durum wheat flour or durum wheat semolina. This is the same flour used to make semolina couscous. In fact, an Italian mill is a major supplier of semolina to Algeria's SIM couscous company, the world's second largest couscous manufacturer.

Leftover couscous is often eaten for breakfast with a little sugar and raisins or currants and a glass of lben (buttermilk or kefir). If you think about it, this isn't different from having semolina porridge, cream of wheat, grits or polenta for breakfast. Except that breakfast couscous is not cooked down into gruel.

Brik is a common street food breakfast dish in Algeria and Tunisia. The gossamer thin pastry sheets are made from a semolina based dough. The result is a delicate, crackling crisp fried pastry that is unlike any other pastry in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common breakfast dishes are semolina pancakes or crepes drizzled with honey, called baghrir or ghraif.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Layered semolina flatbread or melloui (similar to a paratha)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And quick semolina bread (harsha) often perfumed with anise seeds or orange zest. Harsha can be baked in the bottom of a flameware tagine (you guessed it). Traditionally, harsha is also made as griddle cakes. Baked harsha is a bit like cornbread, but milder in flavor and more tender. In fact, some traditional North African harsha recipes are made with cornmeal. Prepared as griddle cakes, well, they are basically pancakes.

American home cooks might want to experiement with different flavors for baked harsha. It would delicious with poppy seeds and lemon zest for example. Or brushed with blood orange syrup.

 

 

The Importance of Semolina and the March of Couscous

Algerian Berbers in the east of the country, have a particular fondness for semolina. Semolina couscous and semolina flat bread called "kesra" or "aghrum" are staple foods. One or the other is eaten at almost every meal.

My mother made semolina couscous or semolina bread everyday. I do not remember a single day of my life in her home without semolina. Algerians sometimes say that if you have semolina and a tagine, you will never go hungry, because you can always make kesra.

Kesra is cooked on a flat round griddle. In Algeria clay griddles are also called tagines (remember tagine simply means pot or pan) and metal ones are called tawa. You can use a Mexican comal for tortillas or the base of a flameware tagine to make this bread.

Algerian tagine for kesra bread.

 

Kesra and other breads are eaten with marqas (saucier tagines), soups salads, lentil dips, bean or chick pea soups and salads.

 

In North Africa, semolina flour is also used to make baghrir (breakfast pancakes), for warka pastry leaves, and of course pasta. There are many traditional North African pasta shapes, especially in Algeria and Tunisia.

Semolina couscous is actually a type of pasta. It is a Berber creation and the staff of life in the Magrhreb (also spelled Magrhib) countries of Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Clever Berbers also invented the couscoussier, the vessel in which couscous is steamed. It's basically a tall pot with a steamer insert.

The original couscous steamers were probably woven from grass and possibly of West African origins.

Then later from clay

 

How to Cook 1000 portions of couscous in 3 hours

North Africans, or more precisely, the couscous eating Maghrebis of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, often compete to make the world's largest couscous. The current Guiness World record is held by Algeria. 2,600 kilos or 5,732 lbs of semolina couscous was cooked in a custom made couscoussier which was 14 ft wide and 26 ft deep.

I think we should have a world's largest couscous in the United States. Couscous is a widely available starch found in any number of national chains, Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe's, Mediterranean specialty shops and health food stores,

The most couscous that my crew in Los Angeles and I have steamed at once was 1000 portions worth. That's about 200 lbs of dried semolina couscous. We used six large Asian fish steamers. They are available at Chinese or Southeast Asian grocery shops and at Action Sales.

Steaming enough couscous to feed a small army is not easy. First of all, if you are steaming a very large batch in a very large steamer, the weight of the couscous grains can cause gumming and burning at the edges. Second, it takes a very long time for the steam to reach the center. In the meantime, the couscous around the edges can become overcooked and pasty.

We came up with a method that produces light fluffy couscous in large bulk. We wetted the couscous with cold water three times. Each time we let the couscous absorb all the water completely and rubbed the grains to separate them before adding another batch of water. Total soak time was approximately one hour.

It's important to add the water in batches. If all the water is added at once, the couscous will become water-logged. After the third batch of water, the couscous should almost look like it has already been steamed once. The "grains" (really a type of pasta) should look and feel lightly "cooked".

This long soak cuts down considerably on steaming time for extra-large batches. During the first steaming the couscous will start to compress from it's own weight. It will start to look and feel densly packed inside the steamer. It's important to stir about 20 minutes into the first steaming to release the pressure to ensure even cooking.

After the first steaming of 40 minutes, we placed the couscous in large hotel pans and sprinkled with ice cold water. The second steaming took about 20 minutes and the third steaming took about 15 minutes.

Four people, six large steamers and three hours later, we had 1000 portions of couscous.

Let's do the math. If we wanted to steam 6000 lbs of couscous to break the current world record without any custom made equipment, we would need 120 people and 180 steamers. That sounds very doable, doesn't it?

Now to come up with a way to make enough tagine for 6000 lb of couscous...

Plain or Flavored Couscous?

Plain or flavored couscous?

Occasionally I receive emails asking how to flavor couscous to serve with a particular tagine. It's like asking how to flavor pasta before adding a pasta sauce. Why the seasoning overkill? You wouldn't add raisins to pasta before adding a tomato sauce.

In Algeria steamed couscous is usually served plain as the basic starch component of a meal just as plain rice is served in East Asia. The sauce for couscous comes from the accompanying soup, stew or braised dish. There is no need to serve a flavored couscous in this context.

Algerian flavored couscous

Couscous with steamed and buttered vegetables or legumes such as carrots, peas, fava beans, scallion tips, etc... is eaten with lben or a light broth. A gently sweetened couscous with dried fruits and a light dusting of sugar can be served with lben for a light meal. Or a sweeter couscous can be served as a dessert like rice pudding, not something to serve with a savory tagine or even a sweet tagine.

Meat flavored instant couscous made by an Asian company. The packaging is like instant ramen noodles. I guess the idea is to pour hot water over it and cover with the little flap lid for a quick meal.

Pre-flavored Packaged Couscous

Another question I'm asked occasionally is about European brands of flavored couscous and North African recipes written by the French that refer to spice blends as "curry" or suggest using garam masala instead of ras el hanout. I do know that some Algerians in the diaspora substitute "curry" blends and garam masala if they don't have access to ras el hanout. But I think the primary reason (since these products are not made by Algerians and the recipes are not written by Algerians or North Africans) is that the further away ingredients are removed from their source and internalized by other food cultures there will be a greater tendency towards fusion which is quite normal. I don't have any objections to this.

I would not buy couscous flavored with "curry" spices simply because I don't like packaged flavored couscous, it's like serving rice-a-roni with East Asian dishes and not because I think "curry" spices in of themselves don't belong in Algerian cuisine. Besides remember the spice trade and all the things Arabs learned and transported from South Asia.

Algerian Bulgur Couscous, Bulgur Pilaf, Couscous Tabouleh

I posted about different types of couscous here . Visitors to France and readers of French cookbooks have often asked me if tabbouleh made from semolina couscous is an Algerian influence. Yes it is. In Algeria tabbouleh is often made with semolina couscous. Probably because semolina couscous is the most commonly prepared in Algeria and it's an easy way to use up leftovers.

The kind of whole wheat couscous that's available at stores like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods is a purely commercial invention made from wheat flour. It is simply not possible to hand roll couscous from wheat flour, you'd end up dough for bread or pasta. Traditional whole wheat couscous is actually made from cracked wheat products like bulgur. If you like packaged whole wheat couscous try steaming bulgur for couscous. Steaming and buttering bulgur coaxes out the subtle, nutty flavor while helping the grains retain their shape. It's almost as if each grain was cooked individually. If you like bulgur pilaf, you'll be wild about bulgur couscous. It's an earthy and elegant dish.

I used #2 bulgur for this. In my previous post about couscous I used #1 which is finer.

Bulgur couscous can be eaten hot, at room temperature or cold. On hot summer days I like it chilled with a cold glass of lben (buttermilk, kefir or thin yogurt). It makes a refreshing light meal.

Bulgur pilafs are very easy to make. They can be seasoned very delicately or robustly to taste. You can steam baby vegetables such as carrots, zucchini and peas in a couscousier than season them with salt and butter then gently mix them into the bulgur. A more robust version can include a tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms. 

Unlike Middle Eastern tabbouleh, the Algerian version is not defined by the amount of parsley used. Ours is about the goodness of whole grain. Prepare a salsa tomatich (tomato salsa) with chopped firm tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, lots of flat leaf parsley, and ramps (or scallions) seasoned with salt, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. You can add any Mediterranean vegetable that tastes good raw or lightly cooked to an Algerian tabbouleh.

The ratio of vegetables to couscous used for pilavs and tabbouleh varies quite a bit. It's really about adjusting to personal taste and available ingredients.

 

Algerian Couscous Varieties

(Types of couscous clockwise from top: millet, corn, durum wheat semolina, bulgur wheat, burkukis and barley in the center)

A cookbook on Algerian cooking must begin with couscous. My family simply refers to it as ta'am Arabic for food or seksu the original Kabylie word for couscous. Elsewhere is is also called kesksou, more on this later

Couscous is the French spelling of Arabic kuskus, also called kuskusu.

Couscous refers to the grains that I listed or semolina 'pasta' that are steamed in a couscoussier as well as the finished dish. The Kabylie word for couscoussier is aseksut.

Paula Wolfert posted an excellent article about hand rolling couscous and I posted about steaming pre-made packaged couscous.

How To Steam Couscous

Packaged Couscous , Roll Your Own...Couscous and Bulghur Wheat Couscous.

If you like whole wheat couscous try the bulghur wheat, it has a delicious nutty flavor.

How to roll your own couscous with step by step photos!

I'm bumping up this post to highlight the last link. It has step by step photos on how to roll your own couscous. There is nothing else like it online!

Crimes Against Couscous

When I feel like laughing or crying I google recipes for couscous. The vast majority are junk. Look at the source please before trying the recipe. Another thing I've noticed is that many, many celebrity chefs feel compelled to publish at least one couscous recipe. Couscous salads seem to be the most common. Of course I'm delighted that couscous is becoming increasingly popular in different parts of the world and it's none of my business to tell someone what they can or cannot do with couscous.

If you want to eat delicious couscous it must be steamed at least 2-3 times. There really is no other way. I will say though that the boil in the bag couscous tend to be better than following the packaged instructions. But if you follow the package directions and dump hot water, cover and fluff with a fork the product will not be good. If you are chef who has published such a recipe I really hope you don't prepare it like that in your restaurant. Try steaming it 2-3 times using my directions for packaged couscous, your customers will thank you for it.

Okay, I've been googling more. It looks like every Tom, Dick and Harry site has a couscous recipe! Maghrebis and couscous fans UNITE, email them, tell them how couscous should be prepared!!!!

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.