Algerian Cuisine Cuisine Algerienne by Farid ZADI

More Algerian Cuisine Foodcast Ideas

Besides filming in the Art Center Kitchen I'm taking my cooking posse around Los Angeles county for location shoots. I hope my wife's abilities with the camcorder develop rapidly, she tends to learn most things very quickly but we still expect some wobbly camera work at first. Think of it as a French auteur style food show *cough*.

I've asked my friend Norbert owner of The Beverly Hills Cheese Store to talk about some goat cheeses he carries in the store that remind me of Algerian cheeses. Check out Norbert narrating the debut episode of "Cheese" on the History Channel's Modern Marvels - check your local cable provider for channel information and listings at history.com. I took my friend chef Bruno of Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa there and as he says, "this is a real food store that smells of real food."

We'll also visit Clifford Wright who Coleman Andrews describes as "the reigning English-speaking expert on the cuisines and culinary cultures of the Mediterranean..." He also has a fantastic, larger than life personality.

I'll also have regular shows highlighting seasonal vegetables and fruits (what's in season at certified farmer's markets of southern california). Looking at the list now I'm thinking of various salsa tomatish (tomato salsa), tomato jam, sun (or oven dried) tomatoes packed in olive oil, uncooked tomato sauces for pasta, fruit salads and compotes, date charlottes with berries, and fruit syrups infused with hot and sweet spices. What I will probably do is show a variety of Algerian recipes highlighting a seasonal ingredient or do a three-course menu around seasonal themes.

The recipes on my shows are ones I learned from my maman and aunt Farida and regional recipes I learned or figured out how to prepare. Most of the techniques are the way a modern Algerian woman cooks. The chef in me comes out to make things easier or to apply Algerian dishes or flavors to restaurant contexts. Slow cooking is reserved for lazy weekends, special occasions or entertaining with friends.

Later this year I'll take a road trip up to Northern California to visit some friends and do more filming. Next year, it's off to Slow Food Terra Madre Arabia. And probably to Malaysia...

Stay tuned...

Mediterranean Creole™- First Algerian Cuisine Foodcast Scheduled for Filming Tomorrow

Me and my sous chef, Sean Christopher McCall in front of the kitchen where I'm filming tomorrow. If Sean's name sounds a wee bit Irish that's because he is! With a little bit of Sicilian on his mother's side or was it is father's grandmother? I don't remember. Anyway, he's my right-hand man.

My wife came up with the name Mediterranean Creole™ for my Algerian cuisine foodcasts. I've done a test run with the name and it has a certain ring to it that people like and more importantly it for me it encapsulates the uniqueness of Algerian cuisine. 

Regular readers of my blog know that I've been wanting to do foodcasts for quite some time. A busy work schedule has prevented me from doing this sooner. Busy is probably an understatement. The glamorous life of this chef includes 12 hour work days, 5-7 days a week. On some days I even work triple shifts. That's correct, 18 hour triple shifts. The cost of living in Los Angeles and raising a family here is very high.

I finally bought a camcorder yesterday. My wife and I did considerable research or rather lots of hand wringing and finally settled on something reasonable. At first our hearts were set on a Panasonic Pro AG-DVX100B 3-CCD MiniDV Proline Camcorder. However, when my wife went to EVS in Glendale the other day the salesman told us that although it was a great camera, really rugged and easy to use- it was becoming obsolete. Everything is going to HD now. The word "obsolete" was enough to scare us away from making what is to us a very big purchase, $$$$3000 and up.

We decided on the modestly priced Canon ZR 800. It was the only camera under $300 that we could find that supports an external microphone. Another benefit for novices like us is that the firewire connection makes it really easy to download and edit on our computer, at least we hope that's the case. Throw in an extra battery, a tripod, firewire hub and a microphone- the total expense was around $500, including the camera. Quite a step down from what we were planning on spending for the Panasonic prosumer camera. The tripod alone for that camera would have cost us $500, not including tax.

Our first filming session will be tomorrow at The Art Center Kitchen in Pasadena. It's the same kitchen I use to teach recreational cooking classes. These episodes will be shot in French. I have a pretty big francophone readership for this blog who keep demanding that I write my posts in French too. Since I don't have the time to do that now, my gesture is to present some of my foodcasts in French.

What's on the menu? Preserved lemons.

I'm shooting four short segments with recipes that include preserved lemons. Preserved lemons are increasingly popular, becoming a general pantry item for non-North African cooks in the States and Europe.

Meyer lemons are actually closer to the kind of thinner skinned, sweet lemons that are used in Algeria for preserving. The thicker skinned Eureka or Lisbon lemons make a fine substitute, so use those if that's what's available.

My recipe for Algerian preserved lemons . Preserved lemons are also available in stores such as Sur La Table, Whole Foods and specialty "gourmet" food stores. However I really encourage you make your own as they are very easy, versatile and an economical way to add flavor to range of Algerian and general Mediterranean dishes. At the same time there is something romantic about them- so pretty and colorful sitting on a kitchen shelf hinting at "exotic" North African cooking.