Algerian Cuisine Cuisine Algerienne by Farid ZADI

Gâteaux Algériens: A Love Story by Rachel Finn Published in Gastronomica Magazine

Excerpt posted with permission from Gastronomica and writer Rachel Finn

Photo taken by Rachel Finn at La Bague de Kenza, renowned Algerian pastry shop in Paris, France

The owner has published an Algerian pastry book in French Les Douceurs de Kenza

  In search of a gift to make a loved one smile, I settled

on pastries. The recipient was more than just my lover—

he had owned my heart for seven years. And so, before

offering him this token of cakes, I needed to sample them

thoroughly…

How to Make Warka Algerian Home Cooking Style (Feuilles de Brick)

Occasionally I am asked if I make my own warka. No, I don't. Warka making is a specialized skill that takes considerable practice. An old North African recipe for pastilla (beestiya) begins, "First you hire a warka maker to come to your home". A recipe for warka can turn into a recipe for tears and frustration. It takes lots of patience.

 

The warka maker's job is endangered these days by the many commercially made versions that are very good to excellent. While this is unfortunate for warka makers, it does make the pastry leaves more accessible and affordable for a more typical home cook. They are available to the trade in the States and you will see them on menus for items such as beestiya and croustillants. In France manufacturers label warka leaves feuilles de brick. This is an Algerian influence, warka is also called brik in Algeria as well as dioul and malsouka.

 

New York Times Article "To Lure the French, Don't be Too Sweet"

To Lure the French, Don't be Too Sweet

by MELISSA CLARK

I did an online search that led me to a blog about Algerian cuisine by Farid Zadi (chefzadi.com), a chef who teaches at the California School of Culinary Arts. With his guidance, I was able to reconstruct Bague de Kenza's recipe.

P.S. Thank you everyone for your supportive emails and comments. I am sorry to say that I do not have time to post on the blog these days as often as I would like. I assure you that this blog will continue for a long time with fresh content. In the meantime if you would like to discuss Algerian cooking and the cooking of many other cultures join my forum book of rai forum

Algerian Semolina Sugar Cookies, Petits Gateaux au Sucre

I'm not sure what these cookies are called in Algerian. I think they might be called Ghribiyia b's-smid or Boussou la tmessou. I need feedback on this. This is a very simple recipe. The semolina actually produces a lighter sugar cookie than regular flour. You can use the photos for this recipe to guide you with the previous cookie recipes I posted.

Ingredients:

1 kg of semolina flour
1 kg de semoule

3 eggs separated
3 oeufs

750 gr of sugar
750 gr de sucre

2 sticks of butter softened
225 gr de beurre

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 cuillere a soupe de vanille

If you add a teaspoon of baking soda the cookies will be lighter.

Water
Eau

Ghribia, Algerian Cookies, Les Petits Gâteaux Spécialité Algérienne

This is another Ghribia recipe. I'm positng a bit hastily because of the high demand for Ramadan. I will try to post step by step photos this weekend. But quite frankly these cookies are not like souffles, they are not difficult to make. The hardest part is forming them into even shapes, but that is is just a matter of practice.

Ingredients

3 cups of AP flour
3 tasses de farine

1 stick of butter at room temperature (1 cup)
115 gr de beurre

1 cup of confectioner's sugar
1 tasse de sucre glace

1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cuillere a cafe de vanille
 
2 eggs
2 oeufs

Ghribia, Algerian Cookies, Les Petits Gâteaux Spécialité Algérienne

I've been holding on posting cookie recipes until I have time to bake them. But the urgent requests keep coming for Ramadan. So I will insert photos later.

Ghribia or ghribiya are made from all purpose flour, semolina flour or even chick pea flour in Algeria. Sometimes a little corn flour or ground almonds are added. My preference is for the ones made with semolina. So I will present that one first.

Ingredients:

1 kg semolina flour
1 kg de semoule

2 sticks of butter, softened.
225 gr de beurre

3 eggs, yolks and whites separated
3 oeufs, separe les jaunes d'oeuf des blancs d'oeuf

750 gr confectioner's sugar (some people add less sugar)
750 gr de sucre glace

1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cuillere a cafe de sel

Whole blanched almonds for decoration (optional)

Oil for the baking sheets

Yields approximately 7 dozen cookies.

EDIT!!! I forgot to add that you should have some vegetable oil at hand in case the dough is too dry and does not bind. Add a few tablespoons of oil until the mass comes together.

Algerian Desserts

I've noticed that my blog gets alot of hits for "Algerian desserts." Algerians eat fresh or dried fruits and nuts for dessert. Algerian pastries are served with tea which can be at anytime of day.

Algerians in France or more urban areas in Algeria will sometimes have French or French influenced cakes and sweets for dessert.

However during Ramadan traditional pastries and cookies are served alongside savory dishes and sweet meat dishes.

Baghrir, Algerian Pancakes, Crêpes Algérienne

My maman made baghrir with 100% semolina flour. Other cooks use a combination of semolina and all purpose flour which produces more holes and a lighter pancake. Some versions do not contain eggs. I'll do a photo tutorial of those too. But my preference is for the way my maman made it, so I present her recipe first.

I think of Algerians more than other Maghrebis as having a preference for breads, cakes and crepes made from 100% semolina flour.

Khobz Mbesses, Algerian Semolina Cake with Eggs, Gateau de Semoule aux Oeufs

This is a very simple, homey cake. It's heavy and very filling. The interior is moist and the crust is  chewy. Traditionally it's made in a tadjine.

There are versions of this cake that are baked or made like a halwet (halva).

Lemnemeche, Doigts d'Amandes, Algerian Almond Fingers

The Arab sweet tooth is legendary. One of the more obvious examples of Moorish/Saracen culinary influence in the Iberian Peninsula and Sicily are sweets made of almonds.

When I was in Algeria I recall that it was mostly the women who made them at home or the dadas (black female domestic cooks). Of course I don't recall a woman every slaughtering a lamb either. Let's call it division of duties, rather reading more into my observation that women made the pastries at home.

In France I simply purchased Algerian sweets at any number of pastry shops. However in America I have not had any luck finding one. My wife makes them at home now.

I present one of the simplest almond pastries to make. Lemnemeche, "Almond Fingers"