Algerian Cuisine Cuisine Algerienne by Farid ZADI

Grow your own- Algerian White Bean Salad

A friend gave me some tomatoes from her garden so I decided to make a white bean salad. Andrea's Recipes is hosting this one off food blog event.

The rules are very simple: just make a dish that uses at least one item from your very own garden andpost about it. I’m leaving the choices wide open because different latitudes will have different produce available. (Just so you know, I am insanely jealous of anyone who has avocado trees in the yard!) And yes, herbs definitely qualify! If you don’t have a garden, you can use something that was gifted to you, but the giver must have grown the item herself/himself.

There are many versions of bean salad in Algerian cooking. Some are very simply dressed with citrus juice, olive oil, and spices. Chermoula also makes a nice dressing for a bean salad. This version is garnished with fresh raw vegetables. I used fennel bulb, carrots, tomatoes and chopped cilantro. I lightly pickled chopped onion in sweet white vinegar for about an hour. This dish is really a non-recipe. I used Rancho Gordo flageolet beans that I cooked the night before and tossed in my vegetables, seasoned with salt and pepper.

Salata Mechouia, Algerian Roasted Pepper Salad

Roasted pepper and eggplant salads or dips are perhaps two of the most ubiquitous appetizers for an Algerian dinner. My friend Bruno, a chef instructor at Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa, came over for dinner the other night. So my wife made this simple variation of roasted peppers.

Trader Joe's sells sweet bell peppers in packages of three, one each of red, yellow and orange. The yellow and orange peppers tend to sweeter and meatier than green peppers. You can add some hot peppers for heat, but we wanted to have a mild, sweet version.

The peppers were roasted one at a time over a gas burner set to very high heat, turning them as each side charred. The skins blacken, but the peppers cook only slightly on the inside, retaining their crunch and fresh flavor with their sweetness heightened just a little bit.

After the peppers are blackened allover scrape of the skin with a knife. They should come off very easily, cut off tops and remove seeds. I used this method to remove the skin and for the way it lightly cooks the peppers. I did not use this method for the smoky flavor, so I rinsed them very quickly to remove any black bits that remained after scraping with a knife. I know there is a particular kind of foodie who would consider this a crime against roasted peppers. My response is to advise against applying "foodie" notions of the correct methods and flavors willy-nilly across a range of food cultures. In this application for Algerian roasted peppers a strong smoky flavor is not desirable.

At this point (as shown in the photo), the peppers can be dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. Roasted garlic puree or finely minced raw garlic are optional. The chopped peppers can be added a chermoulas or salsa tomatish (tomato salsa).

Or they can be cooked further in a pan with olive oil for 15 minutes to bring out their sweetness even more. I sprinkled this with finely ground toasted almonds and toasted and herbed breadcrumbs.

Algerian Fennel Salads and Fennel Slaws

Fennel, Carrot and Onion Slaw on a Bed of Mixed Greens

Algerians love salads. Tossed salads, composed salads, chopped salads, stuffed vegetable salads, bread salads, egg salads, potato salads, and pasta or rice salads. Raw, roasted, steamed, boiled vegetable salads. Salads mixed with citrus and orchard fruits, dried fruits and nuts, herbs, wild greens. They can be substantial enough to enjoy as a main course or a simple side dish to refresh the palate. Salads can be lightly dressed with citrus or vinegar and olive oil or richly coated with creamy mahonaiss (mayonnaise) or sour cream based sauces. Obviously not all Algerians love salads, however salads are as ubiquitous as couscous in Algeria.

Fennel slaws are really non-recipes. They are so easy to make and garnish with what's at hand. I'll just give a short list of just few Algerian fennel salad and slaw recipes with lists of ingredients.

Fennel, sliced very thinly
Endive, slice very thinly
Carrot, julienned or grated

Fennel, sliced very thinly
Radicchio, cut into chiffonade
Grapes or raisins
Toasted pine nuts

Fennel, julienned
Shredded Savoy cabbage
Grated Carrot

Fennel, finely chopped
Sliced boiled potatoes

Fennel, thinly sliced
Tart Green apples, julienned

Fennel, thinly sliced
Manzanilla olives
Flat leaf parsley

Fennel, thinly sliced
Sweet lemon (supremed)

 

I can go on and on. Algerian cuisine is all about endless variety with ingredients.