Algerian Cuisine Cuisine Algerienne by Farid ZADI

Blog Day 2005

Five more choices for Blog Day.

Food related again but again from different cultures.

Stephen Cooks American home cook

Cook Sister South African in London

Delicious Days Germany

Nami Nami  Estonian in Scotland

Seriously Good America

You'll notice I link to two Americans, even though I live in Los Angeles. Truth be told I don't know much about American home cooking. I entertain almost exclusively with my North African, African or French speaking friends and my wife is Korean-American. Our daughter could not recognize an American tuna fish sandwich and when she saw an "American breakfast" for the first time just a few months ago she said, "Ooh I saw that on TV once!" She definitely knows what couscous and kimchi are though.

 

Djedj Mechoui, Algerian Roast Chicken, Poulet Roti

(Close up of the breast to show how moist it is)

On the Zadi family farm in Setif we ate chicken a couple of times a week and lamb the rest. The chickens on the farm are of course totally free range feeding on wheat, corn, worms and insects giving them a special flavor rivaling or exceeding the artisanal produce of more developed agricultural countries.

The chicken is eaten the day it is slaughtered. The flavor is intensly meaty and might even be shocking to those used to common supermarket birds.

The most fundemental method of cooking chicken in Algeria is on a spit over an open fire. The chicken is simply seasoned with salt and generously basted with extra virgin olive oil, butter, samna or smen, creating an incredible crackling like skin. I do not have the means to cook like this in my home in Los Angeles. So I devised an oven method for reproducing djedj mechoui in an oven.

If you don't like spices and herbs just omit them. As I've already stated the spicing doesn't make it more or less authentic. The cooking method is all about the crispy, crunchy skin. When properly made you can actually here the skin breaking like a cracker.

Tunn bel Tomatich, Algerian Baked Tuna with Two Tomato Sauces, Thon aux Deux Sauces Tomates

I'm getting a little tired of eating chicken. I'm really a lamb and beef eater. That's how my family eats in Algeria and in France. In Los Angeles I find myself eating more beef, Korean bbq to be specific.

We'll leave the farm in Setif for this preparation. Actually there is a lake in Setif where people fish, for what I do not know since I have never been there. I can ask though.

This is a tuna dish made with slow cooked tomato sauce, homemade tomato jam and almond stuffed olives.

Some of you may be wondering about the lack of spices in the dishes that I've presented so far. The Algerian cooking I grew up with used spices with a gentle hand or none at all. It has nothing to do with growing up in France either. Many Algerians in Algeria will say the same thing, others will argue that cooking without spices is ridiculous. My family cooking did not use a lot of garlic, onions and peppers either. Again, other Algerians will agree and others will disagree. Algerians for the most part won't argue about authenticity but we do argue about spicing and seasonings.

The tuna in this dish is cooked through in the typical Mediterranean manner. But it is still moist because of the cooking method.

Brik bil Tunn, Algerian Savory Tuna Pastries, Brick au Thon

(Photo from the school buffet at The California School of Culinary Arts, Le Cordon Bleu Program where I teach)

The host for the 18th edition of IMBB Is my blog burning? is At Our Table.  The current edition's theme is "Summer's Flying, Let's Get frying!"

My contribution is Brik b'il Tunn.

The recipe is easy, but it's necessary to work very quickly. Warka leaves are very delicate, as are spring roll wrappers if you choose to substitute. Once the tuna mixture and egg are placed in the wrapper it must be fried immediately. It cannot be left to sit for any period of time.

These briks are addictively delicious. I can eat three to four, most people eat one. They make a nice light lunch with a salad or can be served as an appetizer.

Chorba bel Foul, Algerian Fresh Fava Bean Soup, Potage de Fèves Fraîches

Ingredients:

Fresh fava beans
Feves fraiches

Fennel
Fenouil

Onions
Oignons

Extra virgin olive oil
Huile d'olive

Samna (clarified butter)

Beurre clarifie

Salt
Sel

What are the quantities? That depends on the size of the onion, the size of the fennel and the amount of fava beans you have. I used a medium sized onion, a big bulb of fennel and a large pile of fava beans.

Djedj bel Zitoun, Algerian Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons, Poulet aux Citrons et Olives

Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Olives is possibly one of the most famous dishes of the Magrheb. The name itself seems to evoke a distinct culinary image of North Africa.

I can think of at least eight different Algerian variations off the top of my head without looking at my cookery notes.

I chose this one to present first because I've noticed that variations of Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Olives are increasingly popular on the menus of non-North African restaurants. Rather than an insipid chicken breast in a pool of  flavorless sauce I propose this recipe. It is wholly authentic and absolutely delicious. It can be presented as "Half Roast Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Olives" in typical bistro fashion.

Algerian Hummus, Purée de Pois Chiches

On the Zadi family farm hummus was made with chick peas that we had grown and dried ourselves. We grow and dry our own fava beans as well.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked chick peas
(soak overnight, drain and boil until tender, cooking times will vary)
2 tasses de pois chiches cuit

1/2 cup or more of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tasse d'huile d'olive

Juice of one lemon
Jus de citron

2 cloves of garlic finely minced
2 gousses d'ail emincee

Salt to taste
Sel

Optional garnishes:
Garnitures optionelles:

Turmeric, paprika, fenugreek leaves and lemon wedges.
Curcumin, paprika, feuille de fenugrec frais, et quartiers de citrons

Slata Hummus, Algerian Fresh Chick Pea Salad, Salade de Pois Chiche

Hummus means Chick Peas in Arabic.

In Middle Eastern parts of the Arab speaking world it has become almost synonymous with a pureed chick pea spread with tahini mixed in. Tahini, a sesame seed paste, is as foreign to me as peanut butter.

It is getting late in the season for fresh chick peas, some are starting to look very shriveled. But most are still plump enough to give this recipe a try. It can also be made with dried chick peas.

Fresh chick peas come one or two to a pod. Remove the chick peas from their pods before boiling.

Slata Ful (foul), Algerian Fresh Fava Bean Salad, Salade de Fèves Fraîches

Shelling and peeling fresh fava beans is a family affair. We, well the women, gather at the table to shell the beans while chatting away, about what I do not know.

There is no sense of time when peeling them, each one is done with rhythmic hands, snap back the stem, pull away the 'thread', press to open and pull apart to expose the beans.

The season is getting late here and the beans I  bought this weekend were quite large.

Ingredients:

3 cups of fresh fava beans
3 tasses de feves frais

Juice of one lemon
Jus de citron

Zest of half a lemon
Zest de 1/2 citron

1 tomato concasse
1 tomate en concasse

1/4 cup of Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tasse d'huile d'olive

Salt at the table for seasoning
Sel

Lemon wedges for garnish
quartiers de citrons pour garniture

Tomatich Marhiya Mchemmcha, Algerian Homemade Tomato Jam, Concentré de Tomates

Homemade tomato jam was a staple in my Aunt Farida's kitchen. She used it as a base for soups, stews, and dips or to thicken sauces.

Homemade tomato jam is unlike any commercially produced tomato paste. The flavor is of intensely concentrated fresh tomatoes with a natural sweetness like tree ripened fruits.

It takes a long time to make, but it is not labor intensive if you have a food mill, of course my Aunt Farida did not.

The photos below approximate her method.