Requests for Recipes

I receive requests for recipes quite often. When requesting a recipe it's important to keep in mind a few things.

1. Algerian cuisine has never been codified by self-styled food authorities, chefs or a royal court. There are very few "standard" recipes in Algerian cooking.
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2. Regional variations abound for recipes with the same name. Variations also occur within regions, family to family and within families. Even a simple thing like semolina dumplings have quite a few variations. There are easily at least a dozen variations of chermoula as well. Please respect my time (or lack of) when requesting recipes and be as detailed as possible in your description of the ingredients, taste and appearance of the particular version of a dish you are requesting a recipe for.

3. I simply cannot recreate a version of a dish that I have never  tasted or seen. It's that simple. I can create a recipe for dishes that I have tasted and seen based on my knowledge of cooking techniques and ingredients. But If I've never tasted your mom's or best friends version of something and you don't know what the ingredients are and you don't even remember what it really looked like- then it is simply impossible for me to give you a recipe for it.

My recipes are my versions of Algerian dishes from different regions. But they are still recipes of the land, the people, and our history. Any Algerian who has traveled in Algeria and eaten extensively would recognize them as being Algerian. I'm not talking about your next door neighbor Algerian, I mean someone who knows a lot about Algerian cuisine.

Comments

[Catherine]

I read the article in ARAMCO World. I was just at Cafe Morroco here in Sacramento and had their "rich man's bread" dessert. It's a bread soaked in rosewater topped with a milky custard and pistachios. Do you have something similar? I've been searching for the recipe. TY