Saturday, June 25, 2011

Algeria and the food of the desert

Our recipe spotlight today is on Algeria.


Algerian cuisine has become very close to my heart. I have been initiated into the art of couscous and the spice of harissa. Algerian cuisine  is a blend of flavors originating from the native Berbers to the influences from Spain, France, Italy, indeed the entire Mediterranean basin to the newar east and Arab influences. In short, it is delicious!

Algerians have gone through much...invasion, war, colonisation, independence and fighting terrorism. They know hardship and suffering.
The following humble yet wonderful recipe comes from a great Algerian chef, Chef Zaidi! But you don't have to recreat this exactly. Couscous in Algeria is prepared a thousand different ways. There is no wrong way...use what you have and it will be wonderful!



Here is the recipe and text from Chef Zadi:http://www.chefzadi.com/2005/10/seksu_bil_khodr.html

There are as many variations of this dish as there are possible combinations for the vegetables we have available in the Maghreb. Some say the number seven is lucky. Some say it's a Badwi or Bidawi (Bedouin) dish. Others say any cook with seven vegetables makes this dish.


I chose my seven based on what I had and also the other dishes I was thinking of making. I knew that my guests liked piquant dishes so I planned on making a few along with a side of harisa. I decided a mild version of couscous with seven vegetables would be a nice contrast to the heat and spice of the soups in particular. I also did not want to add eggplant, tomatoes and peppers because I was making Badenjal chteta or Badenjal zaloka (eggplant ratatouille*).

Ingredients:
Pumpkin (carefully peel with a very sharp knife. peel away from your body)
Zucchini
Fennel
Parsnip
Cauliflower (I MUCH prefer carrots, but I did not have any)
Kholrabi
Turnip
1 onion
Butter
Salt

I really would have preferred to use carrots in this dish. The smell of cauliflower is not one that I like. But these recipes are not about my personal preferences. I will say though that carrots would have been much better for the sweetness. It would have produced a more delicate dish. I also like to add butter to this dish more than olive oil. For me buttered root vegetables are a good thing.
Method:

1) Cut the vegetables as shown. Maghrebi cooking is not about fancy knife cuts. Vegetable cutting is often done directly over the pot or onto the cutting board, not on the cutting board itself. So don't worry about fancy French chef knife cuts here.
2) Some cooks will throw everything into the pot at the same time. Others will add the longer cooking vegetables first. My parsnips were quite thick and tough so I added those in first along with the pumpkin and fennel with about a cup of water. The fennel was also a bit old. I cooked them for about 30 minutes on very low heat, then added the onions, turnips, kohlrabi and cauliflower (carrots would have been better), the butter, seasoned with salt and cooked on low heat until all was tender.

I added a stick of butter for about 2 kilos of vegetables.
Optional spices are saffron, turmeric or cinnamon.

*Don't jump to the conclusion that it's a French influenced dish because of the ratatouille. It is not a French influenced dish at all.





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